


Wild Hearts

by coveredinthecolors



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Anti Damon Salvatore, F/M, Hybrid!Caroline, possessive!Klaus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2018-10-19 18:30:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10645581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coveredinthecolors/pseuds/coveredinthecolors
Summary: The vampire in him craved her flesh and her blood, but the wolf… It desired her loyalty. Caroline Forbes would be his first hybrid, of that much he was sure.





	1. offer me that deathless death

**Author's Note:**

> This story is canon up until 3x05, except that Caroline is a werewolf and therefore was never turned by Katherine.

Caroline Forbes was proud to say that she was not scared.

Not a shred of fear could be found in her in that moment. She stood her ground, chin up as she looked right back into his eyes with defiance. She wasn’t frightened, she was furious and she would probably lose her life, but there was not a chance in hell she was losing that staring contest.

Klaus Mikaelson seemed to find that amusing, his lips curling in a small smile, smugness all over his face. She had never hated anyone the way she hated him in that moment.

His eyes were icy blue and the more she gazed into them, the more she felt as if she could see the engines working in his brain, predicting everyone’s next movement and planning his own like he was constantly playing a particularly entertaining chess match.

Caroline wasn’t stupid, she knew there was no way she was getting out of there alive.

So she stubbornly kept on staring back at him, not caring about the risks.

Her eyes were burning, begging her to blink, they were getting more and more watery, but she didn’t care. She’d keep on refusing her body’s needs for as long as she had to, as long as she could have this small victory.

It was as if the other people in the room weren’t there, none of them mattered. Tyler’s words were barely being heard by her as he begged for the Original to let her be, asking to be the chosen one instead.

Caroline would’ve rolled her eyes at him if that didn’t mean she’d have to stop looking at Klaus.

How couldn’t they see that he had already made his decision?

There was nothing anyone could do to stop him now. She would be set as an example for her friends. She would either die or become what she’d been taught to hate ever since she was child.

She knew there was no other possible outcome from it since Klaus had announced he needed Bonnie to find a way for him to make hybrids, telling her she wouldn’t have much time, because he wanted to do an experiment now and, thankfully, there were two werewolves in the room.

Tyler had taken a step back, shaking his head and the stink of fear was coming out from him in strong waves.

Caroline, on the other hand, had the effrontery of crossing her arms in front of her body and arching her brows, challenging him. Which she knew was not smart, but she didn’t want to go down with at least some sort of resistance.

It had picked his interest and the staring contest had begun.

Something gold flashed in Klaus’s irises and he bared his fangs at her, the veins underneath his eyes becoming prominent. Her wolf recognized the signs, knew that he was showing her he was the alpha male, telling her that she should submit.

And her wolf wanted to.

It wasn’t the full moon, though, and her beast was not in control.

So she kept on holding his gaze.

Caroline won, but victory didn’t taste quite as good in her mouth as she had expected. Perhaps because she was forced to swallow it in anticipation, because as soon as Klaus broke eye contact – he looked at Tyler for a split second so that the boy would shut up - he began taking slow, but steady steps towards her.

She thought that fear would come to her when she saw his ferocious smile, but it didn’t. Her heart started hammering in her chest with his proximity, though, anxiety taking over her.

He bit into his own wrist, offering her a bloodied grin before forcing it into her mouth, his other hand going behind her neck so that she would stand still as she uselessly tried to pull back.

Caroline coughed as the blood made its way down her throat.

The last thing she remembered was the strong taste of metal on her tongue, then Klaus put a hand on each side of her head and suddenly her world went black.

* * *

 

Her head had never ached that much before in her entire life.

The throbbing pain was enlarged by how loud everything around her was… It was as if someone was watching TV at the loudest volume possible and the speakers were right beside her ear.

And what was that smell?

It seemed like… blood.

She could smell blood and the stink that clung to the air made realisation dawn upon her, her eyes shooting up as she felt her gums hurting, as if there were new teeth ready to come out.

And there were. Of course there were.

She was in transition. Which meant she was dead. Lifeless.

Shit.

Oh, what would her parents say?

Caroline pictured her mother’s disgusted face, spiting at her that her daughter was dead and that she wasn’t anything but a monster; she could co so clearly see the anger in her father’s eyes, the disappointment. As if it’d been her fault. Or perhaps he would blame her mother, tell her she didn’t raise their daughter right. And how she’d love to yell at him that, well, neither had him.

And, God, why was everything so damn bright?

“You’ll get used to it.” said a feminine voice from somewhere on her left and she quickly turned to see Rebekah Mikaelson, sitting on a chair with her feet resting upon a table. She seemed annoyed, fumbling with the phone on her hand. “Or maybe you won’t have the time to. It really depends if your friend will help my brother. Do you think she loves you more than she hates him? Probably not. Nik is really good in getting people to hate him. You’ll see for yourself if you live long enough.”

“Well, I’m good at getting people to like me.” Caroline shot back, not really knowing what to say when doubt began to settle in her stomach. She was dead. Would her friends do anything to make her a little less so? Did she want them to?

“We’ll know soon enough. Either way, I don’t think you should want to stay alive. Maybe death will be kinder than what Nik has in store for you. Or do you think that he’ll leave you alone if he manages to turn you?”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Rebekah rolled her eyes, staring at her nails. “Because I got stuck with babysitting duty, so I might as well make it interesting for me.”

“Come now, dear sister, already terrorizing poor Caroline?” Klaus’s voice echoed from the door and Caroline directed him her deadliest glare, which only seemed to amuse him as he walked towards her. “Don’t listen to her, sweetheart, Rebekah has always loved being the only girl, but she’ll grow used to having you in our little clan.” He said with a smirk, reaching out to caress her hair, but she quickly caught his wrist, pushing him away.

“Don’t touch me. You know what? Don’t talk to me. Don’t look at me. In case you haven’t realized, you have literally just murdered me, so you don’t get to play the nice guy trying to defend me from your sister and you definitely don’t get to include me in you clan or in any other aspect of your life.”

The curl on the edge of his lips and the content look in his eyes made her tremble in fury, the fire of anger inside of her contrasting with the cold shiver that ran down her spine when he muttered, “We’ll see about that.”

“I told you he was good in getting people to hate him.” Rebekah murmured with a cruel smile on her lips.

Caroline refused to acknowledge her and turned to face Klaus, “Am I going to die?” she asked almost boringly, as if she was asking what time it was.

Intriguing, he thought.

“I still haven’t heard from the Bennett witch. Perhaps I should give them a little more incentive… Something tells me that if the doppelganger’s life is in danger, they’ll be more prone to help our cause. Don’t worry, Caroline, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you live. I have plans for you.”

“Haven’t you heard anything I just said? I’m not gonna take part in your twisted games and you will not threaten my friends!”

“Oh, love, but you’re already part of my games. And you’ll do well in remember that even if your friend find a way for the creation of my hybrids, I do not necessarily have to turn you, Caroline. Don’t presume you can tell me what to do.” His voice came out low and authoritarian, his eyes harsh with a few glimpses of his wolf showing.

And maybe she should learn when to shut up, but she was not going to give him the satisfaction of her submission. “Don’t presume you get to kill me and then make me be ok with it.”

“Do you understand what I’m offering you? Immortality, freedom… You will not have to turn on the full moons. The pain will be gone, Caroline. That is what I can give you. All I ask in return is for your loyalty. A small price to pay, isn’t it?”

His words painted her a pretty picture. It was tempting, to say the least.

The pain she felt every full moon, all of the broken bones and the haunting thoughts of what she’d done while her wolf was in control would be gone. She could be free from what agonized her life. But was it a small price to pay? Being loyal to Klaus, owing him something… Something told her that debt wouldn’t be easy to atone.

She stayed quiet, letting her silence voice her indecision.

He gave her a wicked smirk, clearly satisfied with how she didn’t discard his offer just yet. “I’ll go check on the progress your friends made. Don’t let Rebekah get to you.”

And as soon as he sped away, his sister let out an amused chuckle.

“You’re learning.”

Caroline didn’t ask what she meant by that.

* * *

It was over an hour later when Klaus returned, dragging Elena by the arm, Rebekah dropping an unconscious Damon Salvatore on the floor while the rest of her friends followed close behind.

“What do you mean?”

Klaus’s eyes glinted mischievously as he pointed to the doppelganger with his chin, “All you have to is drink her blood. At least that’s what your dear friend Bonnie says.”

“No one is drinking her blood.” Stefan interjected, “Let her go, Klaus, please.”

“And take away Caroline’s only chance of staying alive? Now that would be cruel.” He said and turned to look at her, “You must be starving, sweetheart.”

She shook her head, “I’m not gonna kill Elena.”

“Of course you won’t. Do you think I’d so easily dispose my one chance at making more hybrids? Not so fast, love, you’ll only take a bite. It should be enough.”

Caroline shook her head in a noble stubbornness, staring determinedly at Klaus while her friend tried to get rid of his grip. “No.”

“Come now, Caroline, I bet you are almost painfully hungry. You can hear the blood running through her veins, her heart beating in her chest. I know you want to try your new teeth, let them sink in her pretty neck. She’s your friend, she’ll be saving your life. She’ll understand.”

Elena stopped trying to get away from Klaus, finally looking at Caroline with a merciful glance. “Do it, Care. It’s ok.”

“No.” Caroline insisted, because how could she make this choice? Not only she’d be hurting her friend, but she’d also be pledging alliance to Klaus Mikaelson. There was too much at stake and perhaps his sister was right, perhaps death would be kinder than his plans for her. She wasn’t sure if she was brave enough to refuse this chance of saving herself, of being free of the pain and agony, though.

She wasn’t afraid to die, but she wanted so desperately to live. Caroline just wasn’t sure about the contract she’d be signing.

Rebekah huffed impatiently in the corner of the room, adding with an eye roll, “Just force the blood down her throat and be done with it, Nik.”

Klaus’s eyes never left Caroline even as he replied with the same obstinacy as the blonde werewolf, “No.”

There was a flicker of interest in his eyes, mixed with the golden that appeared in them that showed his wolf was just beneath the surface, making hers howl softly underneath her prickling skin. “Think about it, sweetheart. Think about what I’m offering you and how little I ask in return – I do not ask for an unreasonable price, Caroline, our deal would be a fair one. The only thing holding it back is you. May I ask why?” he squinted his eyes at her, analysing her further. “Perhaps you do not wish to live. Now that would be a pity, wouldn’t it? I’m offering you the world and not only this one, no, but the one that will takes its place in the next centuries and in the ones after that. Why would you refuse such offer?”

“Care-“ Tyler began saying, trying to urge her to feed. He just wanted her to live, the rest they could deal with later, but his voice wasn’t powerful enough to reach her in that moment.

Caroline felt lost, unsure which path to follow. Was death the brave choice? A selfless sacrifice, perhaps, but what would she be sacrificing herself for? Klaus already knew how to make hybrids, he didn’t need her to be his first one, he just wanted her to and dying to frustrate him a little did not seem worth it.

So perhaps she should choose to complete her transition; to fully turn into a hybrid, just like he was. And that sounded so tempting that she was just certain it was the wrong choice, but it offered her so much possibilities for the future. Maybe she would find a way to pay her debt to Klaus without losing herself. She’d have eternity and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t attracted to the idea.

Caroline finally voiced her decision, letting out a piece of honesty that served both as a reason to herself and as an excuse to her friends. “I don’t want to die.”

The Original nodded solemnly, a tender smile on his lips as he urged the doppelganger forward, Elena whispering that everything was ok so that Caroline would know it, exposing her neck invitingly.

And Klaus watched greedily as the blonde girl finally let her monster out, exposing her beautiful fangs and veins. Her hungry eyes carried a lovely glint of power that he would love to explore and they stared right at his as she let her beasts finally get what they had been craving.

She was glorious and she was _his_.

* * *

 

The blood hit her tongue and spilled down her throat, appeasing her monster’s needs. It felt like nothing she had ever tried before – the metallic taste did not bother her any longer, all she could feel was how pleasing and gratifying it was, the thrill of it all making her focus on the new sensations, on that new power… And on him, of course. There was no way she could look away from the intensity of his gaze. And perhaps blood could inebriate her just as well as wine, because all she could think about was what his would taste like.

Those were not the thoughts she wanted to have about the man who had killed her. She was not about to romanticize that situation, but the most irrational parts of her, the ones driven by lust and desire, did not seem to care; they wanted to sink their teeth in his skin and let him do the same with her.

The thought scared her and she decided to pull back, to confine her beasts somewhere deep inside of her so that rationality could control her actions. She did not look Elena in the eye as she let go, letting Stefan come to her comfort as she tried to sort out her thoughts.

Klaus seemed a little disappointed as he said, “You could’ve enjoyed it a little more, love. But you have astonishing control… And you make such a lovely monster. Are you still hungry, Caroline? We can find you more food in a moment.”

“Look at you, Nik, all excited about your new puppy.” Rebekah mocked, though she took a few steps towards them, measuring the girl as if assessing a possible threat.

Caroline gritted her teeth, “I’m fine. And I can get my own food, thanks.”

“I’m sure you can, sweetheart, I’m simply offering you my assistance.”

She crossed her arms and huffed as a petulant child, which he thought to be diverting. “Well, I don’t want it.”

“Clearly. I suppose we should be on our way, Rebekah. We need to find a safe place for the doppelganger, after all.”

Silence reigned for some long moments as everyone processed what the Original had just said, being broken by Stefan’s indignant “What? You are not taking Elena anywhere.”

Klaus smile predatorily with cruelty in his eyes as he challenged with arched brows, “Stop me.”

Naïve enough to try, Stefan went for the hybrid, having his neck broken in a swift movement. Bonnie tried to put up a resistance, causing aneurisms to erupt in Klaus’s and Rebekah’s brains, but it did nothing more than to annoy them and the youngest Mikaelson quickly positioned herself behind Tyler. “He won’t come back if I break _his_ neck.”

Elena shook her head, “No, stop! I’ll go, just… Don’t hurt anyone, please.”

“Since you asked nicely.” Rebekah ironized, but stepped away from the boy. “Come on, Nik. I have more to do than to deal with the children.”

Klaus nodded absent-mindedly and took a few steps closer to Caroline, enjoying how her breathing quickened at their proximity. She put her hands between them as if to push him away, but made no move to touch him, so he took one of them in his, softly pressing his lips against her knuckles. “I’ll see you soon, Caroline.”

Then he flashed away, taking Elena with him. And all that was left of his presence was the tingling of the skin he had kissed.

“Care, are you ok?” Tyler asked, rushing to her side.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She lied.

She felt strange, her mind felt a little foggy and there was some uneasiness inside of her, a growing feeling of anxiety that she couldn’t quite explain. It was as if nothing really made sense, as if she didn’t have a purpose and she useless sought around in the room for something to tell her what she should do now.

It scared her to think that her mind sought for Klaus, that it expected and yearned for his guidance.

It scared her, but it didn’t frighten her nearly as much as looking at Damon apparently did. She didn’t understand why, there were just flashes of helplessness that took over her body when she glanced at him, a lack of breath and some anger that ate at her entrails.

Caroline let Tyler escort her out, more confused than she had ever been. 

* * *

 “Let Elena out.”

Klaus smiled as he heard the eldest Salvatore brother’s demand as he walked to his car. He had just gone visit the doppelganger, compelling the rest of the staff in the clinic to take as much of her blood as possible without killing her, ensuring they’d let her healthy enough so they could repeat the process over and over again.

“I expected one of you would come for the girl. I just thought it’d be Stefan, since he is her boyfriend, isn’t he? But I suppose the rules for the Salvatores are a little different.” He said, turning around to face Damon with a smirk.

“Yeah, we both have good taste. Now, let her out.”

Klaus shook his head, “Explain to me why do you think you are in a position to make demands. Last time I checked, it would be ridiculously easy for me to kill you, while I am immortal.”

“Are you, though?”

He laughed, “Damon, let me offer you some advice, in all of these centuries, don’t you think that men more capable than you have tried to kill me? Since I’m clearly still alive, you can probably guess what happened to them. So, tell me, why do you think it’d be any different with you and your little gang?”

“Mikael.” the other vampire replied, “We know where you’ve locked your father.”


	2. this is a gift, it comes with a price

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by Charlie

“What is this?” Rebekah asked disinterestedly from the couch as she watched her brother drop an unconscious body on the floor, huffing when she recognized who it was. “Really, Nik? Why would you bring Salvatore garbage into our house?”

Klaus gave her a look to indicate he wasn’t in the mood for jokes. His lips were pressed into a thin line and there were shadows in his eyes that she recognized all too well. She tensed, all humour gone from her face. “What’s going on?”

He opened his mouth and closed it twice; his hands were curled into fists. He stared at anything that wasn’t her and that was enough to tell her it was serious. She began scanning the room, searching for the best escape route. She would not be daggered again. “Tell me,” she demanded to buy her some time, mentally planning what she would do after she jumped out of the window. He was faster than her now. She would have to find a place to hide.

But Klaus only sighed, pointing with his chin to Damon, disgust clear on his face. “He says they know where Mikael is, says that they’ll free him.”

Rebekah suddenly forgot about her plan, shaking her head as she rose to her feet. “No,” she said, horrified. They were free. For the first time in a millennium they were free; no more running, no more looking over their shoulder every second of every day. “Is this because of the doppelganger? How can they be so stupid? They don’t know what they’re dealing with!”

Her brother snorted, “Clearly, they don’t. But if they already know where to find him…” he finally met her gaze, his eyes pleading, “We’ll have to act quickly. I’m leaving town today. If he’s back and he learns that I’ve broken the curse, his thirst for blood will become even greater.”

“You are going to create more hybrids,” she whispered and then frowned – had he said _I’m_ leaving town?

Klaus nodded, “We’ll need an army… He won’t stand a chance to hurt us, Rebekah.” He paused, as if unsure of what he was about to say and she stared at him, waiting impatiently for him to continue. “I will need you to stay here. Drain the vervain out of Damon’s system, question him on what he truly knows… Watch everything they do, who they see and where they go and report back to me. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she said, her voice breaking on that single syllable, eyes suddenly filling with tears. She just wanted it all to be over. She wanted to stop fearing for her family’s safety.

He stepped over Damon’s body to stand closer to her, his hands resting on each side of her face as he looked deep inside her eyes. “Be safe, sister.”

And after pressing his lips against her forehead, he was gone.

* * *

 

Caroline combed her hair as she stepped out of the bathroom and into her room, sighing as she caught sight of herself on the mirror. Normal. She looked so normal in her sweatpants and old t-shirt, with damp hair and no make up.

But nothing about her was normal.

She was technically dead. Someone had murdered her two nights ago, turning her into a blood hungry beast, into something she’d been taught to loathe, something her parents hated perhaps more than they loved her.

She looked at the door, checking to see if it was truly closed before she stepped closer to the mirror until she could see deep within her own eyes. Then she allowed that newest part of her to show up; her eyes became dark and the veins underneath them became prominent, her fangs appeared through her gums.

It felt weird to see her face like that, but the power that ran through her veins felt right, electrifying every inch of her body… She felt strong. Invincible. Which was stupid, really, because there were creatures far deadlier than her. And she had made a deal with one of them, had promised her loyalty in return for an immortal life free of broken bones during every full moon.

Caroline was doing her best not to think about him, not to think about what she owed him. She had promised to be loyal to him and his family, but could she do it if it meant putting her friends in danger, betraying their trust?

She shook her head, staring at her image in the mirror. She was hungry again. Stefan’s bunny diet wasn’t doing anything to feed her properly and she knew it. Her brain wouldn’t let her forget what real blood – _human_ blood – tasted like, how rich and satisfying it was. How it made her feel alive.

But they had told her not to drink human blood for a while, to stick with animals until she was less volatile. She was growing desperate, though. And Klaus had offered to help her find _food_ and- No. She wasn’t _that_ desperate.

Though, was her pride more important than everyone else’s safety? Because what if she suddenly snapped and ate the first person that crossed her path? What if that person was her own mother? How could she live if she had-

Caroline froze when she caught a glimpse of a pair of blue eyes in the mirror by the corner of her eyes. They were gone when she tried to look at them, but a cruel, cold laughter suddenly filled her ears, her skull… She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t move.

Desperation grew inside of her quickly, and she saw the eyes again, but every time she tried focusing on them, they disappeared. The laughter wouldn’t cease.

“Stop it!” she yelled, her fist connecting with the mirror and breaking it in a hundred thousand pieces.

The laughter stopped and she fought to catch her breath, but the sight of the blood running down her fingers, shards of glass stuck in her skin, was making her sick. She wanted to cry, not really understanding what was going on.

She’d had nightmares every time she’d tried to sleep after she’d been turned, always the same vicious blue eyes and cruel laughter. She always woke up covered in sweat, half-convinced that she wouldn’t be able to speak or move her limbs. It’d take her many minutes before she could feel like herself again, before the terror would fade enough so that she could try wriggling her fingers and then slowly regain control of her own body.

And sometimes the owner of the laughter would speak. He would talk about how she was useless and how nobody would ever care for her. How her parent never truly loved her, how her friends didn’t need her. She was pathetic, a waste of time and space and she should be thankful that he was even paying any attention to her.

It felt too much like a memory and there were times where she felt like she knew the person who was talking to her, but… She couldn’t quite place it.

Or didn’t want to. She didn’t like thinking about the dreams that haunted her even when she was wide-awake, didn’t like imagining what they could mean.

“What has that mirror done to you?” an amused voice asked from somewhere behind her, interrupting her thoughts and she turned around to face him, her heart beating fast inside her chest.

She scoffed, “That’s none of your business, actually.”

Klaus had gotten an invitation to her house yesterday morning, making threats to her life to get Liz to let him in. She’d watched silently, afraid of what his intentions were, but not being brave enough to tell her mother that he wouldn’t hurt her. She couldn’t tell her what had happened, not yet.

“I disagree,” he said easily, taking a few steps towards her and it took everything in her not to take a step back. “Everything that concerns you, concerns me as well.”

“That wasn’t the deal,” she protested, trying to keep her injured hand away from him as he reached for it, but he quickly grabbed her wrist and tugged it closer to him, inspecting it.

He gave her a wicked smile, his eyes staring into hers – and oh, she had assumed that the eyes on her dreams were his, but they weren’t. The shades of blue didn’t match and his eyes were cold and calculating while the ones she saw were vicious and reckless.

His voice caressed her ears and sent a shiver running down her spine as he replied, “Sweet Caroline… We’re going to have so much fun.”

Caroline swallowed, not knowing what to say or do as his fingers began to pick the shreds of glass that were keeping her wound open, throwing the blood-stained pieces to the ground where the rest of the shattered mirror already lay.

His touch was soft against her skin and she tried not to remember the kiss he had pressed against her knuckles two days ago, how it had made her blood burn inside her veins.

But he didn’t seem keen on letting her forget as he took her hand and brought it close to his mouth, his breath teasing her mercilessly and making her knees buckle. His lips touched a cut from where her blood was still flowing, tainting themselves red and he kept on looking at her as he pulled back slightly to lick them.

Her breath was caught in her throat and her hand would be trembling if he weren’t holding it. Klaus smirked at her, eyes dark and mischievous as he dipped his head again, his tongue darting out to clean her fingers from the blood that ran down them.

His tongue was hot against her skin, making it prickle. He wouldn’t stop staring at her and she couldn’t look away if she wanted to… But the sight of Klaus tasting her blood was making her insides burn so pleasantly that she didn’t want to look away. Just like that he’d made her forget about her nightmares and the reason her hand was hurt in the first place.

She still forced herself to yank her hand back.

He had killed her. She shouldn’t and wouldn’t be letting herself have these reactions to his presence… Even though…. Even though being around him seemed to make her feel calmer. Like things weren’t such a mess.

“Delicious,” he praised, a feline smile on his lips.

“Why are you here?” Caroline asked, ignoring him and pretending that _that_ – whatever that was – hadn’t happened.

Klaus’s smile faltered as he sighed, “I have to get out of town for a few weeks, maybe months. I need to find other werewolf packs and create more hybrids,” he explained.

She crossed her arms in front of her body, “So you’re here to say goodbye, how touching. Well, bye!”

He gave her an amused look, his lips twitching. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple, sweetheart. I need your help. And clearly you are in need of mine.”

Caroline shook her head, taking a step away from him “If you think I’m going with you, then you are certainly delusional. And what are you talking about? I don’t need your help!”

Klaus chased her, grabbing her hand and showing it to her. “No? These were superficial wounds. They should’ve been all healed by now… You are not feeding properly. My first hybrid, surviving on animal blood… Now that just won’t do. Come with me, love, and I will teach you to feed. To fight. Why would you want to stay in this city anyway? What good could it possibly bring you?”

“I have school! My friends are here, my mother! I can’t just pack up and go because you decided that you want my company in your road trip to murder more werewolves!”

“Oh, yes, your friends… the Bennett witch, who wasn’t all that interested in finding a way to save your life until I threatened the doppelganger, who wasn’t exactly pleading for her to help you. Or perhaps you mean the Ripper, who wasn’t willing to let go of a drop of his girlfriend’s blood so that you wouldn’t die. How long will you stay in your mother’s good graces anyway? Until you can’t keep your little secret, I suppose. How long does that buy you? How long until she realises that her daughter isn’t aging? Or perhaps this is about the Lockwood boy…” his eyes flickered golden with anger at the mention of the young werewolf. “The two triggered werewolves in town. How romantic the story must be. Is that why you want to stay?” he pressed.

Caroline didn’t know what to say. It hurt to have him tell her all of the things that she already knew were true. And Tyler… She had been helping ever since he’d triggered his curse and it’d felt so good to have someone who understood, someone to share those painful nights with. But she was immortal now, and he wasn’t. They hadn’t been officially together before and she didn’t know where that left them.

He took her silence as an invitation to continue speaking, “Why would you waste everything for a small town boy? For a small town life? What difference will a few months of high school make in a century? Tell me, Caroline… Haven’t you understood what I’ve offered you yet? You are free. You don’t have to live your life like a human. School, college, work… You don’t have to follow these rules.”

“Stop it,” she said, not wanting to hear it anymore. “I’m not going with you. Just stop it.”

He stepped even closer to her, offering her a smile gentler than she’d thought him capable of, his eyes equally as soft. “As I said, love, I’m afraid it isn’t so simple. I am very sorry about this, Caroline, but we can’t waste any time.”

She squeezed her eyes at him, trying to understand what the hell he was talking about… And realized a second too late what was going to happen as his hands reached for her.

_Bastard,_ she thought before he broke her neck and her world went black.

* * *

 

Klaus looked at the backseat to check on her, finding her still unconscious. Her golden hair was mostly dry now, her curls messy and wild. She looked different in her simple clothes, without her carefully arranged hair and make up. He could almost mistake her for human and breakable, but he knew better than that… He had seen the fire in her eyes, the resistance of her raised chin.

She was exquisite.

Perhaps that was why he had snapped her neck instead of testing the option many witches had told him about over the centuries. And he almost did, was curious to know if it would even work.

But it’d felt wrong to do it to her. To force her to come with him without her even realising that he had forced her… It would save him from her ire, but he wasn’t sure he could dare extinguish that fight in her. That stubbornness.

He didn’t want a tamed pet.

Besides, he could use that silence to figure what to do first. There was a witch in Richmond that could cast a cloaking spell on them, in case her friends did anything stupid or… Or his father woke up seeking revenge.

They should probably also stop somewhere to get her to feed. Her body wasn’t healing properly and he needed her at her full strength… Yes, he would get her to feed and then he would ask her about the mirror. About what had happened.

His lovely hybrid. Was she having trouble adjusting to newest parts of her monster? He could help her with that, could help her see how she would thrive in her immortality. She had been meant for it. He would show her and make sure she understood just what she’d been gifted. He would make her realise she was too good for that damned town and everyone who lived in it.

She would be his –

No. She _was_ his. His first hybrid. His little monster. His Caroline. His –

The movement on the backseat interrupted his thoughts and he glanced back to see her slowly regaining her senses, groaning a little as she sat up, her hand reaching for her neck that was undoubtedly sore.

“I’m sorry about that,” Klaus said with a smile, meeting her gaze through the rear-view mirror, watching as her eyes widened and she looked at her surroundings, gasping.

“You- You kidnapped me!” Caroline exclaimed, horrified. “I can’t believe you just snapped my neck and put me in the damn car after I said I wouldn’t be going with you! Take me back.”

He shook his head, amused. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, sweetheart. Are you hungry? We’ll pick a meal for you soon enough. A real meal.”

“No. I’m not hungry,” she lied. “I will eat when I get home.”

“Then you won’t be feeding in quite a while. And we can’t have that, can we?”

Caroline glared at him through the mirror, her hands curled in fists so tightly that the white of her knuckles showed. “Take me back. Now.”

Klaus offered her a ferocious smile, his blue irises flashing gold. “I’m curious as to why you’re assuming you can give me orders, sweetheart. Doesn’t your wolf know who is the alpha male?”

“My wolf doesn’t give a shit and neither do I. Take me back, Klaus.”

She knew she shouldn’t be pushing him, that she was very close to crossing a line and that he was dangerous. As much as he seemed to be interested in her, she was well aware that she wasn’t irreplaceable. Not when he could make as many hybrids as he wanted.

But Klaus never seemed to do what was expected of him, so instead of hurting her, he simply laughed. Not a maniac laughter, just one of sheer amusement. He was delighted by her reaction. And apparently, Original Hybrids who murdered her and then kidnapped her were allowed to have a really nice laughter.

“What?” she asked before she could stop herself, more than a little irritated by the fact that he was laughing at her.

“We are going to have so much fun,” he repeated the words he had already told her earlier that day.

Klaus was infinitely amused by her. She could never do what everyone else would, she wouldn’t cower in fear of him... And he didn’t want her to. He wanted her like that – defiant, strong.

She was so utterly beautiful.

And she was completely his.

* * *

 

“Good. You are awake,” Rebekah said, her voice cold and a vicious smile on her lips.

Damon was chained to the ceiling of the living room, the floor covered in plastic drop cloths so that it would be shielded from the blood spill that would soon happen.

The vampire fought against his restraints, groaning. “Your brother ordered you to do his dirty work, uh. And of course you are going to do what he says, because you have no opinion of your own.”

Rebekah pretended to consider his words, playing with the knife on her hand. “Yes, you’re right… Oh, wait, no. I’m pretty sure that you are thinking about the sweet, personality-less Elena. They don’t make doppelgangers the way they used to,” she mused, stepping closer. “But it doesn’t seem to matter. There are always those falling head over heels for them and making the stupidest mistakes… Like crossing my family.”

And before he had the chance to reply, Rebekah pressed the knife against his stomach, piercing it and slowly enlarging the cut until it was long and deep, grinning at his screams of pain and at the sight of the blood spilling from him.

“Do you think this will end well for you? Do you think that we will simply let you go after the threats you made?” she smirked, “Let me guess, you were hoping to plan the hero, to rescue and Elena and make her see how she should be in love with you instead... I’m sorry to inform you that she will never get the chance. Don’t worry, I’m sure she’ll weep for a day or two when we tell her you’ve died most tragically.”

“Shouldn’t you be running away? After all, your daddy is going to be here soon.”

Rebekah stabbed him through his ribs, piercing one of his lungs


	3. something wretched about this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by supremeuppityone

_ We are going to have so much fun. _

His words wouldn’t leave her mind as she tried to understand how exactly he thought that was even a possibility. His definition of fun was clearly _very_ _different_ from hers.

Caroline was still sulking in the backseat when Klaus parked the car in front of a bookshop in Richmond. She had refused to engage in any conversation with him during the entire trip there, but she knew that her curiosity would get the best of her in the end. She was dying to know more details about what he was going to do — then perhaps she could come up with a plan to get herself out of this situation.

She knew the chances were slim. She doubted Klaus would let her go so easily. She just wished she understood  _ why _ he was so obsessed with keeping her close. He had gone to her house to tell her he was about to go on a trip to create more hybrids; surely he had no use for her?

But even if she didn’t want to be stuck in a car with him for God knows how long, she wasn’t sure she wanted to go back to Mystic Falls.

The things Klaus had said about her friends and about her future — about how they didn’t care enough, about how a small town life would not be enough for her — had been meant to manipulate her to leave with him, she knew. But it didn’t make them any less true. Her friends hadn’t been all that interested in helping her, she would never be their first choice. And few months of high school really weren’t all that important when she was now immortal.

Part of her did want to go back to school, wanted to organize prom the way she had always dreamed of, wanted some sense of normalcy. But the rest of her didn’t think it was so important anymore.  _ She doubted she would ever feel normal again _ .

Besides, going back home meant that she would eventually have to tell her mother. Caroline didn’t know if she could ever do that. Even if their relationship was far from being close or affectionate, she couldn’t bear the thought of ruining it. It hurt to think that just four words —  _ “I am a vampire”  _ — would most likely be enough to make her mother decide she no longer had a daughter.

Her parents had been brought together because of their hatred towards vampires. Liz thought them to be unnatural and evil, preying on the innocent, and Bill had been a Forbes. And the Forbes had always hated vampires, being both werewolves and members of the Council. Her father went as far as being a  _ hunter _ . 

She wasn’t ready for them to look at her with hatred in their eyes, with venomous words about how their daughter had died. Not when she still felt very much alive.

She was pulled out from her thoughts when Klaus opened the car door for her, clearly expecting her to join him outside. She was seriously tempted to be difficult and stay inside. After all, she was wearing  _ sweatpants.  _ Hell, she wasn’t ever wearing a bra and her hair was most likely a huge mess.

Plus, maybe if she annoyed him enough he would regret his decision of forcing her to join him in this road trip.

But he seemed to have anticipated her stubbornness, and simply grabbed her arm, forcing her to emerge from within the car. She glared at him for his caveman-like manners as she stumbled to get her balance, pulling her arm free from his grip once he loosened his hold on her. He was unfazed by her annoyance.

“Come, sweetheart. Gloria doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

Caroline scoffed, but followed him inside of the bookshop regardless. Too curious to know who Gloria was and what they were doing in Richmond. As far as she knew, there were no packs in the area.

The bookstore was small and cramped with old-looking books. The dark hardwood flooring made their steps echo through the room. There were no windows, the shop badly lit and too warm, concentrating the strong smell of jasmine produced by the burning incenses that gave the place an ethereal atmosphere, though it irritated her nose.

A dark-skinned woman sat behind the counter, the white of her knuckles showing as she gripped the pen she was holding. She bared her teeth at them for a moment, despite them being the only ones in the shop. She nodded at Klaus and said curtly, “Come with me,” quickly disappearing through a door that led to the back of the store.

Caroline looked at the hybrid, hoping for some explanation, but he simply shrugged, following the woman and gesturing for her to do the same.

The room was dark, lit only by candles and the air was hot, carrying a smell stronger and less pleasant than the one of the incenses, like there was a corpse in the room. The woman had her back turned to them, who stood by the threshold, as she stirred something inside a stone bowl.

_ Witch _ , Caroline realized, feeling alarmed.

Her heart began to race inside her chest as she wondered what plans Klaus had and what part she was to play in them. She was most definitely not in the mood to be sacrificed for some creepy ritual.

He seemed to notice her uneasiness; perhaps he heard her quickened breathing or saw the way her muscles tensed. “Don’t worry, Caroline. Gloria is not going to hurt you.”

His assurance surprisingly did calm her down, but only momentarily. The effect of his words were ruined when the witch turn to them with a knife on her hands and pointed at Caroline with her chin. “The girl first.”

“What?” she choked.

Klaus sighed, “If I wanted you dead, I would’ve done so earlier, love. She needs your blood for a cloaking spell.”

Caroline narrowed her eyes at him. “A cloaking spell?”

He smiled, “We wouldn’t want anyone following us, would we? The spell will prevent us from being tracked. It should buy us some time.”

She had so many questions. He couldn’t possibly be afraid of her friends finding him. But who would be tracking them? Who was after him? She supposed that a great many deal of people wanted him dead, but she couldn’t see why he would hide from any of them.

Gloria was looking at her impatiently, but Caroline shook her head.

“I’m not just giving a witch my blood because you want me to!”

Klaus looked at her, his irises flashing yellow for just a minute. “I would rather you do it willingly, but I have no qualms on getting a few drops of your blood by force if I have to.”

Caroline hated this. She hated him. She hated being helpless.

She had no other choice but to walk to the witch and grab the knife from her. She gripped the blade tight and pulled the knife down, squeezing her hand to make the blood fall into the transparent liquid inside the bowl, watching as the scarlet drops began to give it colour.

Klaus was standing next to her in the next moment, taking the knife from her and repeating her movements. She hated that when she saw his blood, she wondered what it tasted like.

Gloria began to chant. The candle flames started to tremble, making more shadows appear all over the room.

The Original was staring at the witch, hanging onto her every word, probably making sure that she was doing the spell he wanted her to do. Caroline wished she could speak Latin in that moment, wished she could understand what the woman was saying.

She felt the urge to step closer to Klaus when the shadows crept closer to them, leaving the places where they should be to slide across the floor towards their feet. He seemed unbothered by it, so she just hoped it wouldn’t harm her.

When it reached her, it began to make its way up her body, making her skin feel like it was slowly being covered in a thin layer of cold water. It made her shiver; the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. She looked down only to see her body enveloped in darkness. Klaus looked the same, giving her a small smile at how panicked she was. He was looking way too pleased by the whole thing, the bastard.

When Gloria’s words came to a halt, the shadows seemed to merge with their skin, disappearing within them. The icy sensation continued to be all over her, though.

“It’s done,” the witch said.

Klaus nodded. “Thank you for your services, Gloria. You’ve been most helpful.”

Caroline wouldn’t have been able to see what happened if it weren’t for her newly improved senses. One second, he was standing next to her; the other, he was behind the witch, with her heart on his hand.

Gloria’s body fell to the ground with a thump. Caroline only barely contained a scream in her throat.

“Why did you do that? She did what you asked!”

Klaus looked at her. She ignored the sound that echoed through the room when the witch’s heart hit the floor. “She hated what we are more than she hated vampires. It would’ve been easy for him to convince her to share the spell she put on us. I couldn’t risk that.”

_ What we are…  _ She had never stopped to think about that — Klaus and her were the only hybrids in the world in that moment. He was the only one like her. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

She decided to focus on something else.

“ _ Him _ ?” Caroline asked. “Who would come after her?”

His face darkened. “You don’t need to concern yourself with that. But you should be concerned with the fact that you’re not healing properly,” he said, gesturing to her hand.

The bleeding had stopped, but she could still clearly see where the cut had been made.

“Come on, we need to get out of here,” Klaus mumbled, seeming irritated.

Caroline followed him hesitantly. She had always known he was a monster, but it’d been the first time she’d seen him kill someone. Well, someone who wasn’t her. She wasn’t exactly scared of him, knowing that, as he’d pointed out, he’d had many opportunities to kill her by now, which meant he probably wasn’t going to do it. Not until she played her part in whatever scheme he was planning. Still, it was rather unnerving to be put in a close space with him so soon, to be forced to stay with such a dangerous man.

In hindsight, this definitely hadn’t been her best idea, but she had been so fucking done with following his rules that she didn’t care. He had killed her, turned her into something she hated, broken her neck, kidnapped her and then forced her to give her blood for a spell she knew very little about. She would  _ not _ be his victim any longer.

She ran as soon as they stepped outside, hoping like hell that the adrenaline would make her able to use her vampire powers, though she hadn’t even tried to before.

But before she could even focus on flashing away, she found herself with her back pressed against the wall of an alley, an angry hybrid glued to her front as he held her arms above her head.

“Did you really think this would work?” he asked, smiling cruelly. “Surely you knew that there was no way you could escape me.”

She fought against his hold uselessly. He seemed to find that amusing, holding her wrists with only one hand as the other trail down her arms to reach her cheek. His eyes flicked to her lips.

It was a power display. He wanted her to know how easy it was for him to defeat her. He was stronger, faster, more powerful. She would have no chance of beating him.

Klaus cupped her face, his thumb caressing her cheek almost tenderly as he leaned in. Her heart skipped a beat.

Caroline’s breath was stuck in her throat, a defence mechanism against his intoxicating scent. She swallowed in anticipation for what he would do next. Scared of what he would next, excited for it. She could feel his breath ghosting against her skin, if he leaned in an inch, their noses would brush. And if he leaned in another…

Instead, he asked, “Have you not been able to use your new abilities, yet?”

He seemed genuinely curious, not as if he was trying to mock her, but she still blushed when she shook her head, half-expecting him to call her useless or weak. But he didn’t do that. Klaus just hummed in agreement, as if he’d been expecting that answer from her.

“We will have to fix that soon,” he said idly, taking a step back and letting go of her wrist. His eyes kept her pinned to her place, though. “I suggest you don’t try anything like this ever again. I might not be as forgiving.”

She simply nodded, accompanying him to the car in silence. Not having another choice but to acknowledge her defeat.

She would not be able to beat him using only her abilities. He would always be able to win that way… She would have to find another option. She would have to outsmart him.

_ It was a good thing that she was fond of challenges. _

* * *

 

“Why are we stopping?” Caroline asked, alarmed. Even though she wanted to get as much distance from him as possible — which she couldn’t really do inside the car — she feared the motives why he was stopping on what seemed to be a restaurant on the side of the road.

He looked over at her, raising his brows. “I did promise I would get you a proper meal, didn’t I?”

She froze, her hands ready to unbuckle her seatbelt felt on her lap. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not feeding from humans.”

Klaus ignored her, opening his door and using vampire speed to her side of the car and do the same for her. He offered her his hand. “Shall we, Caroline?”

Her voice was calm and he phrased it as a request, but she knew very well that it was an order and that he was getting impatient with how she constantly challenged his authority. He was an alpha, after all. Her wolf could tell. But if he wanted someone who did everything he said, then perhaps he shouldn’t have forced her to come along with him. She had made it clear by now that she was not willing to just do everything her ordered. Not without putting up a fight.

“I mean it, Klaus. I’m not going to hurt anyone.”

He grabbed her hand. She thought he was going to pull her out of the car again, but instead he just showed her palm to her, where there was still a scar. “This should’ve been healed in seconds, Caroline. You are a newly turned hybrid. Your body is consuming more energy than you are giving it, since you are only feeding from animals. Why do you think you couldn’t even run from me today?”

“What does it matter to you? Let me be weak and vulnerable if I want to! You don’t have to care.”

He gritted his teeth. “I’m not bringing you with me for the amazing company, sweetheart. I need you to be able to defend yourself. You’ll only be able to do that if you feed properly.”

“What do you want from me?” Caroline yelled at him, feeling more frustrated than she’d ever been in her life. “I’m not going to be your perfect little hybrid and do your dirty work for you. I am not killing innocent people. I am not hurting innocent people.”

Klaus’s eyes turned gold for the second time in that day as she defied him once more. He wasn’t used to letting people talk to him that way – even his siblings would’ve already had their necks broken if they dared challenge him that much. It was hard to keep his anger at bay.

“Perhaps I should remember you that you promised me your loyalty. That was  _ your  _ choice, Caroline.”

She had to fight down the urge to punch him. Was it fair to say that it had been her choice when her only other option had been death? Probably not, but, of course, Klaus didn’t play fair.

“Yes, I’ll be loyal to you. I won’t betray you or your family or plot to take you guys down. That does not mean that I will follow your every order and be a pawn in your game, Klaus. If you want someone who will do that, then find someone else because I am done.”

Caroline watched him carefully, gauging his reaction. She was well aware he wasn’t very pleased with her and she knew she was crossing too many lines, venturing into very dangerous territories. But she couldn’t and wouldn’t let him push her around and step all over her.

Ever since she had changed into a vampire, her emotions had been heightened to the point of overwhelming her.  _ And what she felt the most was anger.  _ Sure, she felt scared and hurt and lonely, but the fire that burned in her stomach was what fueled her.

She was angry at him for what he had done to her, for what he  _ would _ do to her. She was angry at herself for saying yes to his proposition. She was angry at her friends for not caring enough, at her mother for never being there for her, at her father for abandoning her. She was angry that she didn’t hate Klaus as much as she should, that his presence could still calm her down despite everything. She was angry at herself for enjoying her newfound strength so much, but hated even more how weak she felt when the nightmares came at night and haunted her during the day.

She was angry at how she was expected to be a pawn in a game she had never wanted to play, angry that all of the plans she’d ever made for her life were thrown out the window at the same time a million doors were opened for her.

She was furious and she would not back down. Not from him. Not about this.

So Caroline stared into his eyes much the way she did the first night they met, with the same determination and fire that had gotten her killed, but she didn’t care. She needed him to know that she would not bend and that she had no plans of letting him break her.

Klaus leaned inside the car, his face just inches from hers, making her swallow as she tried to contain her nerves even as her heart began to beat faster and faster inside her chest. His eyes revealed nothing of his intentions and she just stood there, staring into them and hoping that he would not hurt her. She knew his patience wasn’t infinite, but she was not scared enough of him to give in.

She was so busy preparing herself for an attack that the sound of her seat belt being unbuckled startled her.

“Fine,” he snarled, pulling back. “Have it your way. Now, get out of the car, would you? Some of us are hungry and plan to do something about it.”

Caroline debated telling him that she would stay in the car, but she knew he would refuse to leave her unsupervised when she’d literally just tried to escape. And she was well aware that she would have to pick her battles when it came to Klaus. This victory was what she could afford... for now.

The restaurant was nearly empty except for a few truck drivers who were discussing last night’s game enthusiastically and paid them no mind. Klaus and her sat far from them, in the back.

She wondered if he would feed from them and wrinkled her nose. Hungry as she was, those men did not seem to be tasty.

But a young waitress suddenly made her way to their table and Caroline knew what would happen. Her blood turned to ice in her veins as she thought of the girl, not much older than herself, being treated as nothing more than food. She wanted to warn her, to tell her to run far away and never be involved with monsters.

Perhaps she would’ve done so, or would’ve at least begged Klaus not to hurt her… If only her body hadn’t been paralyzed, her brain unable to control her muscles. Like in her nightmares.

She watched petrified as he smiled charmingly to the waitress, the way she swooned for his accents and dimples, the way she smiled back. The cruel laughter that haunted Caroline’s mind chose that moment to make an entrance. Her hands began to tremble.

Klaus told the girl to sit by his side, quickly convincing her that no one would mind. She didn’t protest. Caroline was reminded of the day Damon pretended to like her, how he had flirted with her and she had been so thrilled that someone seemed to want her, that she didn’t see what was underneath.

The Original was staring at her when he leaned in to whisper something in the girl’s ear, making her giggle before she glared at Caroline, as if offended the blonde was still there, but Klaus quickly got her attention back to him as he grabbed her chin to force her to look into his eyes.

“Don’t scream and don’t try to run,” he compelled her and she dutifully repeated the orders.

Caroline felt sick. The man laughing inside her skull was driving her insane, what she knew was about to happen made her want to throw up.

But even so, the moment Klaus’s fangs pierced the waitress’s neck - just for that one moment when the smell of blood first filled the air and his lips were so tempting tinted red - she felt her new instincts coming to surface. For just a second she’d wanted to taste the girl’s blood, too. She wanted to revel in the fact that she was a predator.

But then she saw those sunken, lifeless eyes. The way the girl stared at nothing and no one and just let him took whatever he wanted from her. No fight, no resistance. Completely stripped from her agency.

Caroline saw herself in those eyes; the memories she had been trying so hard to bury, suddenly flooding her mind.

She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think.

All she could do was watch that girl being hurt and remember how it felt to be in her position, how scared she had been, how helpless and useless she had felt. She had never felt weaker than when Damon Salvatore compelled her to stand still and did whatever he wanted to her, used her in whatever way he saw fit.

Her body hadn’t felt like her own, she had been trapped inside her own mind, forced to do his dirty work, to be his plaything, his living blood bag.

Caroline felt like she was going to explode. The knowledge of what had been done to her, seeing something similar happening to someone right in front of her… She wanted to throw up.

It took her a few moments to remind herself that she could move, that her body was no longer a hostage to anyone. So she did what she used to do when she woke up from her nightmares and took a deep breath.

She started wiggling her toes first, calming herself down at the knowledge that she could do this. That she was in control. Another deep breath. Her fingers moved consciously instead of just trembling. Breathe in. Breathe out. She closed her eyes, needing to stop looking at what was happening for just a second.

“Stop,” she said, her voice weak, but she could speak. No one would just make her be quiet when they didn’t want to hear her voice. “Just stop.”

When Caroline opened her eyes, she was slightly surprised to see that Klaus had actually stopped and was looking at her curiously.

She didn’t offer him any explanation, she didn’t owe him that. She simply stood up, fighting the fact that her limbs felt heavier than they normally did. But it felt easier with every step she took, she felt more and more in control. 

Even if she had to battle against the urge to vomit. Even if she had lost the war against the tears that were now clouding her vision.

* * *

 

Klaus was worried about her. He had been ever since he’d found her in her house, shards of glasses cutting her skin.

But then she had defied him over and over again, the way he knew he could expect from her. The way he enjoyed she did.

He had been concerned about how she couldn’t seem to use her new abilities, but he had assumed it was probably only because she hadn’t been feeding well enough, that he could change that with a nice meal and then perhaps giving her a taste of how freeing it was to be vampire. The speed, the strength, the heightened senses…

But after what happened at the restaurant he wasn’t so sure it would be so simple.

Truth be told, he wasn’t exactly sure  _ what _ had happened at the restaurant.

He had wanted to tempt her, to make her want to feed from the vein… And for a moment there he had thought that it would work; he had seen how her hunger had been apparent in her eyes, how close her monster had come to showing up.

But then something had happened and she had frozen. She had looked terrified in a way she hadn’t even when he had killed her.

Then she told him to stop. He would not normally take orders, but something about her broken voice had made him respond. She hadn’t said anything before she’d left and he had found her with her arms wrapped around herself, leaning against his car with tearful eyes.

Caroline had refused to answer his questions and had entered the car without arguing or protesting. She hadn’t even protested when they arrived at the hotel and he had requested a single room.

And now she wasn’t sleeping.

He could hear her tossing and turning and struggling to find a position to stay in. It was past 2am when he finally decided that enough was enough.

Klaus turned on the lampshade, the low light barely enough to illuminate the room. The hotel wasn’t quite what he was used to in terms of luxury; the bedroom was small and the smell of cleaning products was strong. The single beds were a far cry from the comfort of his king size one, but he supposed he had slept in worse conditions.

He got up, making her turn to look at him. She looked so small and frail lying in her bed, refusing to say anything. The only reaction he got from her was how he heard her heart begin to race when he sat by her.

“What is wrong?” he asked.

His mind had come up with a thousand scenarios. He knew that her family hated vampires and that hatred had most likely been passed down to her. She was probably having issues adjusting to her transition, but he could help her with that. He would make her thrive in her immortality like he knew she could.

His lovely hybrid was meant for so much more than that small town and its small people. He could make her see that. He  _ would _ make her see it.

He had plans for her.

Caroline chose to stare at anything but him as she said, “Nothing’s wrong.”

The fact that she didn’t end something like ‘except for the fact that a lunatic murdered me and then kidnapped me, everything’s perfect!’ only made him more concerned for her.

“Really?” Klaus asked dryly. “So what is keeping you from sleeping?”

He decided not to ask about the state he had found her outside the restaurant, or how she had silently cried on their way to the hotel. He knew it would probably scare her and she wouldn’t let him in, wouldn’t let him help her. And he wanted so desperately to help her. It was almost pathetic.

She bit her lower lip, her hands playing with the sheets as she seemed to debate whether she should answer his questions. He knew that she probably hated how she felt like she could trust him, how hard she was probably fighting against telling him everything that was bothering her. 

In the end, she confessed, “If I sleep, I’ll have nightmares.”

Caroline looked at him for the first time that night, seeming anxious. He wondered how she thought he would react to that, if she thought he would make fun of her or belittle her. He wouldn’t. She didn’t know that yet, but eventually she would understand that she could trust him. Even if he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to trust her.

“I see,” he said, an idea coming to his mind. “What if I could promise you that you would have no nightmares?”

She scoffed. Klaus almost smiled at that. “I am not letting you into my mind to control my dreams.”

He shook his head, “I won’t. Just close your eyes.”

Caroline looked at him dubiously, but he just stared at her pointedly, beckoning her to at least try.

She did what he asked.

Klaus took a deep breath, wanting to stop his hybrid’s pain, but not certain that this would be the best way to do it. It would be so easy, though… He could make her rest, could make her feel at peace for a few hours.

He wouldn’t be doing it for a selfish cause, not entirely. 

So he mustered every ounce of authoritativeness that he possessed and let it make its way past his lips along with his words: “Sleep, Caroline, and do not have any dreams tonight.”

Klaus watched as her eyelids fluttered for a few moments as she fought to stay awake. But in the end, her body relaxed against the mattress and her breathing evened.

He returned to his bed, ignoring the bitter taste of guilt as it washed over him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, let me know what you guys thought! Any favorite moments or lines? How do we feel about Caroline getting her memories back? And about what Klaus did to her in the end of the chapter?


	4. tell me i will be released

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta'd by Angie/Angelikah/thetourguidebarbie

_ Sleep, Caroline, and do not have any dreams tonight. _

His command had echoed deep inside her; his voice had made her bones tremble. Every cell in her body began to want to respond to him… So that was what she did.

Caroline fell asleep almost immediately and no nightmares woke her in the middle of the night, like they had since she had been turned. There had been no screaming, no wicked laughter, no fear.

She woke up only when sunlight made its way into the room through the cheap blinds that did very little to shield her from it.

And as she sat up in bed, she could only think about how it made no sense that she had slept through the night, that she had woken up more well-rested than she had in months.

How could it be that she had peacefully slept when  _ Klaus Mikaelson _ had been only a few meters away from her?

And how could it be that the monster that plagued her dreams wouldn’t show up when she had just found out who he was?

Her hands clung to the sheets as she thought about him, her breathing becoming heavier and her stomach tossing and turning, making her feel sick. She closed her eyes, doing everything she could to control her reaction, but it only made her mind flood with the memories she had gained yesterday.

_ Stand still, Caroline. _

_ Don’t yell. Don’t run. Don’t– _

No.

She was free. Damon Salvatore would never be able to hurt her ever again.

Her eyes scanned the room, trying to prepare herself for Klaus’s comment and inquires about what was happening to her, but the bed besides her was empty and the door that led to the bathroom was open. He was nowhere to be found.

Caroline frowned. It wasn’t like him to leave her alone and unsupervised.

She got up, ignoring her trembling hands as she reached for the door handle. It wouldn’t open. She tried to force it, using all of her newfound strength as a hybrid, but it still didn’t work. Throwing herself against the door had also turned out to be useless.

Rubbing her shoulder to sooth the slight pain, she checked the room for anything that could be helpful, but her attention was grabbed by the pile of new, clean clothes on the edge of Klaus’s bed.

There was a note on top of them.

_ “Good morning, Caroline.  _

_ If you are reading this, then I am still out running some errands, but I will be back soon. There is no point in trying to escape, as I had the room spelled, so you’d make a better use of your time by getting ready for us to leave. There are hygiene supplies in the bathroom and the clothes, obviously, are for you. I hope you have slept well.  _

_ – Klaus” _

Caroline would’ve scoffed and crumbled the note in her hands… But the last sentence was stuck in her mind.

_ I hope you have slept well. _

It brought her thoughts back to where they had been this morning — it made absolutely no sense that she had slept well.

So what Klaus had done to her? Because if she didn’t know any better, she would say that he had compelled her, and just the thought of it made her blood turn cold inside her veins and her heart begin to race in panic.

She forced herself to breathe and think rationally about it. Last night hadn’t been anything like compulsion. Hell, she’d had her eyes closed as he gave his command… This was something else entirely.

It had felt different. She hadn’t felt trapped inside her own mind, watching like bystander as her body responded to someone else’s orders. It was as if she had begun to crave what Klaus had instructed her to do, to crave it so much that her body and mind complied and let her rest.

And, well, she  _ had _ been desperate to sleep and to escape her new reality for just a few hours. Perhaps she was predisposed to want these things and her subconscious had trusted him when he had said he could do something about it, so her mind had made her body follow his order. 

Like a hypochondriac that was given a placebo.

Caroline sighed, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to know what had truly happened until Klaus was back from wherever he had gone.

She debated her options. She didn’t want to do as he said, but she felt like she needed a shower and she definitely wanted to be dressed in something that wasn’t sweatpants and an old T-shirt, if only so that she could feel a little more like herself.

Cursing under her breath, she headed to the bathroom, making sure to lock the door behind her in case Klaus returned before she was finished. She dropped the clothes on the bathroom countertop and checked the products he had bought, all of them unnecessarily expensive, which made her roll her eyes.

She reached out to grab the shampoo bottle when she caught her eyes in the mirror.

Caroline looked at herself. Her hair was a wild mess around her head, but other than that, she looked well put-together. There were no dark rings under her eyes, her face wasn’t swollen from crying... Anyone who looked at her wouldn’t say she was broken.

But she was.

She wanted to be strong, but she felt like she was failing at that. She had spent the last few days struggling to adjust to her new form, having to cope with the fact that she had been murdered and turned into something she was taught to hate ever since she was born, and even worse than that, having to live with the fact that she didn’t hate being a hybrid. That she knew she could grow to love it.

Then Klaus had kidnapped her and brought her along on his trip to kill other wolves and turn them into monsters like them… And having him so close to her all the time would drive her insane, she knew it would. His mood swings and the fact that she seemingly couldn’t despise him as much as she should were confusing to say the least.

And yesterday…

Caroline felt bile rise to her throat every time she thought about what she had remembered yesterday.

Everything had come to her at once. Every time he had touched her and her body couldn’t fight him, every time his fangs had pierced her skin and she couldn’t scream, every time he called her useless and she believed him.

She held her hair up as she leaned closer to the mirror, trying to carefully examine the skin of her neck, but there were no scars there. No trace of what he had done to her… Like it had never happened.

Which was what all her friends had pretended to be the case.

Caroline felt sick as she thought about all the times they could’ve stopped it, how they only did it when it became convenient for them — and still used  _ her _ to do it.

And then they had made her spend time with him and let her be in his presence as if nothing had happened. They had let Damon joke about their “relationship”, had left her alone with him countless times… Hell, Elena wouldn’t shut up about her conflicted feelings about him.

Caroline didn’t try to stop the tears as they came this time. She didn’t know if they came from anger or sadness or despair, but she knew she was done. Done with Mystic Falls. Done with being treated like she didn’t matter. Done with being collateral damage.

She took off her clothes and headed into the shower, doing her best to let the hot water soothe her muscles and failing miserably.

Her skin was prickling with awareness, remembering every place he had touched her and every cell in her body seemed to burn in repulse. She reached for the body scrubber, rubbing it against her skin until it was red as she tried to wash him off of her.

She knew she had taken many showers since the last time he had touched her, but this was the first one she took while still feeling the things he had done to her, while still remembering every detail.

Caroline couldn’t help the stop the sobs as she continued to scrub her body, barely noticing the pain as the water hit the cuts and scratches she was leaving behind.

It was only when she watched through the tears the white floor tiles turning pink as they were covered by blood-tainted water that her trembling hands let go of the sponge and she braced herself against the cold wall.

She heard the door of the room being opened and footsteps she knew belonged to Klaus.

She closed her eyes. The last thing she needed was for him to see her like this. No matter how weak she felt, she couldn’t have him thinking that’s what she was.

Caroline muffled her sobbing against her arm as she forced herself to take deep breaths and prayed he wouldn’t hear her. She gave herself a few moments to calm down before she began to wash her hair, trying to use that as a distraction.

She had stopped crying by the time she washed off the conditioner.

She quickly dried herself, hissing at the burning of her skin as the towel brushed against the scratches. Klaus was right, she was taking way too long to heal and she would have to do something about it. She waited for a few minutes until all wounds had disappeared from her body before she got dressed.

He had gotten her simple clothes, which she was thankful for. Just a pair of jeans and a grey T-shirt. There was a pack of cotton panties and a plain black bra. She was glad she wouldn’t have to deal with anything lacy and uncomfortable. 

Everything fit her perfectly, and she couldn’t say she was surprised by it.

Caroline took a moment to comb her hair, deciding that the hairdryer the hotel offered would take her forever to dry her hair and that Klaus wasn’t likely to give her that time — even if she was extremely tempted to stay in the bathroom a little longer.

She could hear him in the next room, pacing. She wondered if he knew that she was stalling and was losing his patience with her.

She caught her eyes in the mirror again.

_ You can do this _ , she thought, not daring to actually speak the words in case he would listen in.  _ You’re free. You can do this. _

Taking one last deep breath, Caroline unlocked the door.

* * *

 

_ If I sleep, I’ll have nightmares _

Her words wouldn’t leave his mind, both haunting him and justifying his actions.

Klaus hadn’t slept. He had stayed up all night making sure that she slept and rested, telling himself that he was doing it only to make sure that the sire bond actually worked, but he knew that was a lie. He did it because he was worried about her.

What nightmares was his hybrid having? Was it his face that frightened her at night, his voice that kept her awake?

Normally, the idea that he could cause such fear would have amused him, but it didn’t sit well with him that she would be this scared of him.

And if it wasn’t of him she was afraid… He would hunt down anyone who dared terrorize her.

Because something or someone  _ was _ haunting her, and not only her dreams. He had seen it in her eyes at the restaurant yesterday, had heard it in how her voice was shaking when he spoke to her at night.

He had been around long enough to know when someone had been hurt, and she had been. It was clear to him from how she flinched when he got too close, how her heart began to race when he moved suddenly.

And the strangest part was that, somehow, he had the feeling that it had nothing to do with what he had done to her.

He vowed to find out the truth when she was awake. For now, he would let her rest… They would have a busy day tomorrow.

Klaus got his phone, texting some people to make sure everything he needed would be ready. He ordered a loyal witch to get Caroline some clothes and to be there at sunrise. He needed to leave the hotel and she would have to spell the room so that his hybrid wouldn’t escape.

It crossed his mind for just a second that he didn’t need a witch… That he could just tell her to stay there and she would.

The idea left a bitter taste on his mouth. Klaus knew he couldn’t do it… It was so pathetic of him, but taking away her agency like that was something he would not be able to do. He enjoyed her fight and fire too much. It would feel wrong to keep her around like an obedient pet.

He wanted  _ her.  _ And he was selfish enough to want her to choose him of her own free will.

Besides, he was never one to back down from a challenge, and he knew that getting his Caroline to give herself to him would most definitely be one.

Klaus got up when the sun was about to rise, writing her a note as he waited for the witch to get there. Once she did, he left the clothes on his bed and carefully inspected her work as she casted the spell, before they both left. Caroline didn’t so much as moved in her sleep.

His first stop was to get clean clothes for himself, as well as getting more of them for him and for Caroline, so they would have what to change into in the next few days.

Then he went to a hospital.

After her reaction to feeding from the vein yesterday, he knew she would not be amenable to trying anytime soon, but he couldn’t have her feeding on animal blood. It was making her weak, and he couldn’t have that.

So he stole a few blood bags, determined to get her to feed once he got back to the hotel.

When he walked in, he could hear that she was still in the shower, so he stored the blood in the mini fridge, feeling pleased that she had followed his advice and started to get ready for their day — even if he highly suspected that it had more to do with her desire to be dressed in clean clothes than anything else.

Klaus sat on his bed, trying to be patient and give her some time. If she was afraid of him, then he would have to be more careful in the way he treated her, he would have to try a little harder.

He could never become anything that even resembled a good guy, but showing that he had no intention to hurt her was something that he was willing to do.

It took a few more minutes before he heard the shower being turned off and he was surprised by the faint smell of blood that came from the bathroom. Was she hurt? How could she be hurt?

Klaus stood up, walking towards the door, but suddenly stopping as he thought about it. There clearly wasn’t a huge amount of blood, so she had probably made a small cut or something of the sort.

There was no sound that indicated anything was wrong. He could hear that she was getting dressed, so he decided to wait, though he grew more and more restless the longer she took.

He knew very well that she was taking longer than necessary… He wished he could know if she was doing it to spite him or because she was indeed scared to face him.

His head snapped to the door as he heard it unlocking and then hesitatingly opening.

Klaus immediately scanned her body, searching for any possible wounds, but didn’t find anything amiss besides her wary eyes.

It marveled him how stunning she could look in such simple clothes, her hair still wet from the shower.

She shifted her weight on her feet, crossing her arms in front of her body as if trying to shield herself from  _ something _ , looking a little uncomfortable under his gaze. The uneasiness in her eyes was preoccupying.

“Hi,” Caroline said a bit shyly.

“Hello, love,” he greeted easily as she entered the room, walking past him to reach for the sneakers and socks that were on the floor by his bed. His eyes didn’t leave her, analyzing her every movement. He made sure that his voice showed none of his apprehensions,  “I take it you’ve slept well.”

“I did,” she agreed, but bit her lower lip, clearly worried.

He couldn’t help but smile at her. “Is there something wrong, Caroline?”

“I just don’t understand how… I mean,  _ what did you do to me? _ ”

His eyes lit up with amusement. “I did nothing to you. You simply obeyed your alpha’s command… And finally accepted your place in my pack.”

Caroline had a faint blush to her cheeks as she snorted. He knew she would believe his lie, knew that she must had heard the tales of how far werewolves would go to obey their alphas if they were truly loyal to them. She probably would chalk it up to her being desperate and her wolf accepting his command out of necessity, but she would believe it. He could see it in her eyes already.

“You’re not my anything and we are not a pack.”

Klaus smirked. “Of course, sweetheart.”

She rolled her eyes as she finished to tie her shoes. “Whatever… What are we doing today, anyway? You said we were leaving. Are you going to start murdering wolves?”

“Not today, I’m afraid. After what I learned yesterday about how you have been failing to use your new abilities, I’ve decided that we should take today to help you master them. That is, of course, after you’ve fed properly.”

Caroline immediately stood up, shaking her head. “I am not hurting anyone.”

“I know,” he said as he turned his back to her to walk towards the mini fridge, taking two blood bags from within it. “Which is why I have acquired these.”

Klaus observed her reaction carefully. He saw the hunger in her eyes, could see that her monster was just under the surface, begging her to come out, but she contained it. Her control was unparalleled.

“I shouldn’t drink human blood,” she said, her voice obviously pained.

“Well, thankfully, I do not give a damn about what you — or rather,  _ your friends _ — think you should or should not do. While you are with me, you will not feed from animals.  _ You know you need this, Caroline _ . You know you are not healing properly or being able to reach your full potential because you keep limiting yourself. I will not have that.”

Her indecision was clear in her face, but only for a moment. Then she nodded and took a few steps towards him to grab one of the blood bags… He could see her hands shaking as she reached for it.

Klaus watched with a darkened gaze as she allowed her beast to show. She was quick to sink her fangs into the blood bag, letting out a sound that would plague his dreams as the blood hit her tongue.

His Caroline looked so lovely like this. Such a beautiful monster.

When she was done, she dropped the empty bag on the floor; her vampire features still out as she eyed hungrily the one he still held.

He took a step towards her, invading her personal space. He reached out to cup her cheek, revelling on how she immediately leaned into his touch, and swiping his thumb across her chin to catch a drop of blood, that he promptly brought to his mouth to taste. Her eyes were fixated on his lips.

_ Not scared of me, then, _ he thought.

“You can have this one on the way. If we don’t leave now, we’ll waste too much time, so let’s go, shall we?”

She blinked a few times as she tried to make her features become human once again before she nodded, looking confused as she followed him out the door.

* * *

 

Caroline quietly sipped from the blood bag, sitting on the front seat of Klaus’s car.

She couldn’t understand why she had denied herself this for so long… Animal blood could not compare to how satisfying human blood was.

She wondered if she should’ve put up more of a fight, if she should have tried to stay to her vegetarian diet, as she liked to think of it… But Klaus was right. She wasn’t healing and she wasn’t reaching her full potential, and the idea of being weak right now made her feel sick.

All she wanted was to feel like she could defend herself, to feel like she could fight back, and he seemed like he was willing to teach her that. And who could be a better teacher than a thousand years old psychopath?

Klaus remained looking at the road for the whole drive. He hadn’t bothered to tell her where they were going and if he noticed her frowning as he stopped by the edge of the road, he didn’t comment.

“Come on, sweetheart,” he said as he left the car.

Caroline was too curious not to follow him, and they ventured into the woods. She tried not to stare too much at his figure as he walked in front of her, but she failed.

As awful as it was to admit to herself that she was attracted to the man who had murdered her, it was still better than thinking about the memories she wished she didn’t have. And after the way he had touched her in the hotel room… It was easy to be distracted, easy to keep wondering why and how he could have such an effect on her.

Just a brush of his thumb across her skin had left it burning.

“What are we doing here?” she asked suddenly, shaking her head to dismiss those thoughts.

Klaus didn’t stop moving as he replied, “I told you. I’m going to help you master your vampire abilities and no one will bother us here.”

She nodded even though he couldn’t see him and they continued to walk in silence until they reached a clearing. He turned to look at her.

“So, what are we going to do first?”

He raised his brows at her, a smile on his face. “Someone is eager to learn. I have to say, sweetheart, I was expecting you to fight me on this.”

She scoffed at how he dared look disappointed at the fact that she hadn’t. 

“Well, if I am going to be dragged across the country by a murderous creep, then I figure I can at least learn how to fight.”

“I am glad you’ve decided to be reasonable,” he said cheekily, looking over his shoulder to offer her a wicked grin.

Caroline rolled her eyes, but found herself smiling as well. She didn’t understand how he could make her feel like this. Lighter, freer… Happier, even. He shouldn’t be able to do it, but she would take this small gift today without overthinking it too much.

Klaus was violent and evil and she should not feel safe in his company, but she couldn’t help it. And right now she didn’t want to.

They stopped when they reached a clearing, and he finally turned to look at her. She could tell that he was feeling way too pleased with himself and she fought down the urge to roll her eyes once more. Her annoyance would probably make him look even smugger, somehow.

“So, what are we doing first?” she repeated her question, looking at him expectantly.

“You had me worried yesterday with how you are still unable to run properly, so we will work on that first.” Klaus had barely finished his sentence before he was suddenly standing next to her… She  _ did _ roll his eyes at his demonstration this time. “Close your eyes,” he instructed, “can you feel all this energy that is running through your veins? I need you to focus on it.”

Caroline wanted to argue that it was hard to focus on anything when he was standing so close to her, his lips nearly brushing against her ear as he whispered in it, but she wisely kept her mouth shut and simply nodded to acknowledge him.

She tried to draw him out and think about the strength she could feel electrifying every part of her body. She felt like she could do anything.

“Open your eyes,” he said, and she did so. “Can you see that tree?” She nodded. “I want you to run until there. Do you think you can do it?”

Caroline didn’t reply. Instead, she focused on the muscles of her legs, focusing on the strength she had there. Then she took an impulse and ran.

She was by the tree he had pointed in less than a second and she felt like she hadn’t done anything… It had almost been like the Earth had accelerated beneath her feet, leading her to where she had wanted to be.

Her surrounding had become a blur, but she had somehow remained aware of everything.

Slowly, a huge smile spread across her face as she turned to look at Klaus, who was grinning back at her.

“I did it!” Caroline said excitedly, and he ran to join her.

“Very good, sweetheart.”

She didn’t know why his praise made her feel so warm, why the pride in his eyes made her feel so happy… But it was nice being looked at as something other than expendable, as someone with potential.

It felt good to be  _ seen _ .

Klaus spent the next hour teaching her how to make better use of this new ability she had conquered. How she could use the impulse to jump higher and reach the top of the trees, how to keep focused on her path and be able not to hit anything no matter how fast she was going… She hadn’t expected this to feel so liberating, but she had fallen in love with the thrill and the power and the way the wind caressed her hair.

She hadn’t expected to somewhat enjoy Klaus, either. He could be fun and charming and  _ nice _ when he wasn’t busy murdering her or kidnapping her. He could make her laugh and she was surprised by how good of a teacher he was, how patient and supportive he was and how rewarding his smiles and praise could be.

Everything felt perfect. She was perfectly distracted and could even say she was happy… Until he decided to begin to teach her how to fight.

Perfectionism and anxiety didn’t go well together, and Caroline grew more and more frustrated the longer it took for her to achieve anything.

They had been going at it for what it felt like hours, and she hadn’t even managed to hit him once. So far, all she had done was dislocate her shoulder four times and dirty her new clothes with mud.

She hadn’t realized how pathetic she would be at this, how ridiculously weak she still was even with her new hybrid strength.

It unnerved her to know that… She felt like she could never be safe, no matter how hard she tried. There would always be someone stronger than her that could harm her.

“Feet wider apart,” Klaus instructed for the billionth time. His patience, unlike hers, hadn’t wavered despite her obvious failure at this. “It will help you keep your balance.”

Caroline did as he instructed, but it had done nothing to keep her on her feet when he launched for her. She still ended up falling on her back, her head harshly hitting the ground and making her groan.

He offered her his hand to help her get up, but she ignored it.

_ “What did I do wrong this time?” _ she asked, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice.

Klaus chuckled, “You do realize that I am older, therefore stronger than you, and that I’ve been doing this for over a thousand years, don’t you? Certainly you didn’t think this would be easy.”

“I had hoped I would be able to punch you in the face,” she mumbled under her breath, making him smile even more.

“I resent that.”

Caroline crossed her arms in front of her body. She knew he had been joking like they had been all day long. Rationally, she knew that. But she was angry and sore and frustrated, so she started yelling at him. “Seriously?! You- You’ve been terrorizing my friends ever since you came into to town. You killed Elena’s aunt. You tried to kill Elena…  _ You murdered me _ . Then you kidnapped me! You do not get to resent  _ anything _ .”

He seemed a little confused by her outburst — and she couldn’t really blame him considering they had been talking normally to each other all along — but she didn’t care.

She hadn’t realized she had been feeling so angry.

Ever since everything came back to her yesterday, she had felt scared and weak and alone… But not angry. Not until now, when all she could see was red and her monster was threatening to come out.

Caroline attacked him.

She wished she could say that it had been calculated, that she had seen his confusion and decided to use it against him, but there had been nothing rational about it. She had just wanted to hit something and he had been standing right in front of him.

Distracted, Klaus hadn’t defended himself when she threw a punch at him and she managed to hit his jaw.

It had felt glorious… It would feel even better when she could hit the person she actually wanted to hurt… But it was short lived. The moment she tried to throw another punch, he had caught her wrists and swiftly twisted her arms behind her back.

“Sloppy,” he whispered against her ear, the heat of his body pressing against her back. “But better.”

Caroline hissed, fighting uselessly against his hold. She tried to hook her feet around his ankle to make him lose his balance, but he simply used his knee to harshly push behind hers, and she fell to the ground, groaning in pain as her arms were put into an even more uncomfortable position. If he twisted them a little more, she was sure they would break.

But he let go of her.

She felt tears beginning to form behind her eyes as her anger started to leave her, being replaced by a soul crushing sadness.

Klaus sank to his knees beside her, and the worried look on his face was worse than falling on her arse repeatedly for the whole afternoon.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked, seeming so genuinely concerned that she would have laughed if she weren’t busy trying to contain her sobs.

Caroline didn’t reply to him, instead, she just closed her eyes and focused on her breathing. She couldn’t keep doing this, couldn’t keep being assaulted by these memories, haunted by them every second of every day.

She jumped back when she felt his hand cup her cheek, the sudden contact making her heart race. And it was so ridiculous, because they had been touching all day, but this was what scared her.

The softness, the intimacy and the suddenness made her scramble away from him, limbs outstretched as she pushed his arm away from her and she yelled,  _ “Don’t touch me!” _

Her eyes widened as she realized how she had reacted and looked into his.

She saw the moment he understood — understood why she had been acting so weird since the restaurant, why she hadn’t been able to sleep at night… Why she had yelled at him and attacked him.

And had she stayed another moment, she would’ve seen as rage clouded his face and his eyes shone yellow.

But she just ran. As fast as she could.

Caroline knew that it wouldn’t be enough, that Klaus would be able to catch her in a second if he so wished, but he let her go.

She didn’t let the tears come. She was done with crying. Done with feeling sorry for herself. She wanted to fight back, to scream at the world that she wasn’t girly little Caroline anymore.

If she weren’t strong enough to defend herself, then she would become so. She would train and she would learn and  _ she would survive this. _

It was those thoughts that made her stop running.

Because what good would it bring her? If she didn’t face Klaus now, she would have to face him later.

She stopped by as she reached a river. If she wasn’t so shaken up, she might even admire how the pretty view it made, but she simply sat on a large rock to wait for him. She knew he would come.

He appeared just a few moments later, and she watched carefully as he silently walked to sit beside her. She almost smiled at how he made sure to keep some distance between them.

“I’m sorry,” Caroline said, finding his eyes.

Klaus frowned. “What on Earth are you apologizing for?”

She didn’t reply, because she honestly didn’t know… She simply hated awkward silences and she had needed something to say. Maybe she was apologizing for yelling at him or attacking him, but those weren’t exactly undeserved. He  _ had _ done terrible things to her.

“For running so far. Now we have to go all the way back to the car,” she attempted to joke and he laughed, probably for her sake.

They sat there in silence for a few more moments. Caroline didn’t dare break this one, because she knew what would happen the moment anyone said anything… He would ask her to tell him everything.

And she would, because she felt like she needed to tell someone. Perhaps it would be easier to leave with what happened if everything wasn’t kept inside her, if she could let go of some of the burden by making it leave with her words.

… And because she felt weirdly comfortable with him. She shouldn’t trust him, but she did.

“What happened, Caroline?” he asked softly, confirming her suspicious.

She brought her legs up and close to her chest, closing her arms around them as she hugged herself.

“I was human… I mean, mostly human, since, you know,  _ werewolf.  _ But I think he didn’t know that, or he wouldn’t have come anywhere near me… God, I wish he had come near me during the full moon. I would have–” she stopped mid-sentence, giving him an apologetic look. “I’m rambling, sorry.”

He shook his head. “Stop apologizing. Now, how about you tell me who he is and what he did to you?”

Caroline took a deep breath. She had a feeling he had understood enough from her reactions in the past days to at least have a good idea of what had happened, but he wanted to hear it from her.

_ “I was so stupid,”  _ she said, her voice cracking. “My parents have taught me since I was a child how to spot a fucking vampire… But I was drunk and I was feeling so alone and he had paid attention to me. I think I ignored the signs because I wanted someone to want me. And then I took him home. I invited him in… And when we went to bed, he showed me who he truly was. He compelled me to–”

She paused. His eyes were on her, she could feel them, but she just kept on staring at the river.

_ Don’t cry. No more tears, remember? _

“For weeks,” Caroline continued. “It lasted for weeks. And Elena and Stefan… They knew and did nothing until it fitted their plans and their wishes. And now they pretend like nothing even happened! They never even told me… He–” she breathed, preparing herself to say what she hadn’t allowed herself to even think.  _ “He raped me _ . He fed from me, hurt me. Terrorized me. He compelled me to think of myself as useless, compelled me to do his dirty work. And then they made me spend time with him, team up with him, accept his fucking presence in my life when they knew!”

Klaus was shaking with the anger he couldn’t contain, gritting his teeth as his eyes became golden and the veins beneath them began to show. “Who?” he asked, his voice still surprisingly calm.

“Damon,” she said, disgust threatening to make bile rise up her throat as she uttered his name.

A dark smile spread across his lips.

“Ah, the eldest Salvatore… His days were always numbered, but he seems to have secured himself a few more decades on Earth. A quick death won’t do anymore… We will drag this out for a very long time.”

Caroline couldn’t help but smile, too.

The look on his face said that he absolutely meant it, that he would torture Damon for years so that he would pay. A part of her wished she could say that the thought troubled her, but it only made her feel good to know that there was someone willing to go through such lengths for her.

She would never get justice for what had been done to her, so revenge would have to do.

“I promise you,” Klaus continued, “that once all this is over… Once he has paid… I will give you his head.”

She nodded, not knowing what to say. Were you supposed to thank people who promised to torture and kill someone for you? She wasn’t aware of the protocol, but she was still grateful.

She had been right. It had felt good to share this with someone. Even if it was with Klaus. It made her feel a bit lighter, a bit less troubled by the images that were burned in her brain.

Caroline cleared her throat. “So, should we get going? We have to go all the way back… And I think I need a blood bag… And I know there are some in the cooler in the car.”

He chuckled, but stood up and offered her his hand. She took it.

She was ready to let go and begin to run towards where she thought the car was, but he kept his hold on her, making her turn to look at him. She was surprised by the look on his face.

He looked serious and there was something in his eyes that she couldn’t quite read.

“No one will ever hurt you again. I won’t let them,” he vowed.

Caroline felt her heart skip a beat at his promise.

She believed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what your thoughts on how I handled what Caroline is going through in this chapter! Also, are you enjoying their dynamic? Klaus being protective of her, Caroline clinging to him because he somehow makes her feel safe and she needs that right now... I'd love to hear you thoughts!!


	5. all you have is your fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been awhile! I hope you guys like it!  
> Thank you Charlie for beta work

_ I promise you that once all of this is over… Once he has paid… I will give you his head. _

Klaus kept thinking of his promise over and over again. It was the only thing bringing him any sort of comfort at the moment: the knowledge that Damon Salvatore would pay for everything he had done to Caroline.

He had stayed awake for hours coming up with endless scenarios of how he would torture the other man, thinking of all the ways he could make him suffer. His pain would last for many centuries.

The idea of anyone hurting his hybrid… It left his body burning with a rage he couldn’t explain. It wasn’t rational. He just knew that he couldn’t accept the idea of anyone harming her.

Every time he thought of her human and defenseless and scared… He almost felt like throwing up. Like his body couldn’t take knowing that she had been wronged; it made him physically sick.

Almost without noticing, he focused on her heavy breathing. She was still fast asleep in the other room of the hotel suite they were staying in.

Klaus took a deep breath. That helped calming him, too. Caroline had been asleep for nearly four hours and still no signs of nightmares, even if he hadn’t used the sire bond to help her tonight.

After they’d gone back to the car, she had stayed silent in their hours on the road. He knew she was probably feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the fact that he now knew, was probably wondering if he thought any less of her. If he thought she was weak.

He wanted to reassure her of how untrue any of that was, to tell her that she could trust him, that he would protect her. But he knew his words wouldn’t be welcome and stayed silent, too. With time, she would know. She would understand.

They had stopped in Bristol, Tennessee, where they were staying the night in a hotel much better suited to the levels of comfort he was used to than the last one they’d stayed in. He had made sure to get a two-rooms suite this time, thinking that she probably would appreciate having her own space. At least, he knew that if he had made such personal confessions to anyone, he would’ve wanted to be alone for sometime afterwards.

And it seemed like he had been right. The moment after they got into their suite, Caroline excused herself, claiming to be tired from the training and the four hour drive that followed it, and went straight to her room, leaving him alone to drink a glass — or a bottle — of scotch.

He tried to bury all the rage he was feeling in the alcohol, but as it burned down his throat like fire, all it did was amplify his anger. The glass he was holding shattered into a thousand pieces.

Klaus cursed under his breath, hoping that the noise hadn’t woken Caroline up — it hadn’t — while he got up to wash his hand from the drops of blood that were spilling from the few cuts he had made.

It was then that the perfect idea hit him. He didn’t know how he hadn’t thought about this earlier, really. Because, while there was nothing  _ he _ could do to inflict pain to Damon at this very moment, that didn’t mean that no one could do it for him in the meantime.

He grabbed his phone, quickly pressing ‘call’ and waiting for a few seconds.

“What is it Nik?” a tired voice said from the other end of the call.

Klaus smiled. “Hello, dear sister. It’s a pleasure to talk to you, as well.”

Rebekah scoffed. “It’s four in the bloody morning. What do you need?”

“Do you still have the elder Salvatore in your care?” he asked, his face becoming darker. He could not say the man’s name without wanting to crash his phone beneath his fingers as well.

“Do you think I’m an idiot and would’ve let him go? He’s in the dungeons. Is that all?”

He could hear the worry in her voice even as she masked it as irritation. He knew she must have been worried that he would call her at any moment to tell her that Mikael was free and they were shackled to this eternity of running once more.

“I need you to go back to torturing him, Rebekah. I need you to make him suffer,” he said, his voice rough.

There was a pause. He couldn’t even hear her breathing.

“Is everything okay?” she asked finally in a rushed voice. “Is father-”

“Still in his coffin,” Klaus assured her, allowing his voice to become a bit softer. “My men tell me that no one has even tried to free him yet.”

Rebekah breathed in relief. “Perhaps Damon was lying.”

“Perhaps so,” he conceded, but he didn’t really believe in that. Not even Damon Salvatore could be stupid enough to bluff about this. “Will you do what I ask?”

“Well, you know I enjoy a good torture. May I ask why you want me to do it, though?”

He knew she was suspicious of something. Rebekah had always been too perceptive for her own good… Perhaps she wouldn’t link this to his relationship with Caroline right away, but he knew that it would inevitably happen. He knew she already suspected that Caroline was more important to him than he was letting on.

“You may not,” he said simply. “And Rebekah… Do not break him. I want to do that myself, do you understand?”

Not exactly the truth. He would love to be the one to do it… He would love to be the one to make Damon Salvatore start begging for his death. And perhaps he would be the one to do it, after all, but he would never refuse that to Caroline, should she want it.

A dark smile spread across his lips at the thought of his hybrid taking her revenge. What a beautiful sight it would make when she washed her sorrows with his blood.

Perhaps he should include a ‘best ways to inflict pain’ course to her training, though he had a feeling she wouldn’t approve.

Lost in his thought, he barely heard Rebekah sighing and saying “Fine. I promise I won’t get carried away.”

“Thank you, sister,” he said before disconnecting the call.

Klaus took a deep breath. Yes, it was a good feeling to know that Damon would be suffering. Not as much as he deserved it. Not yet. But at least it was something. Besides, he knew his sister and he knew that she would be able to make his life miserable. It was a comforting thought.

He forced himself to go to bed after that. They’d have a busy day tomorrow and, while he didn’t require much sleep to function, he had been awake ever since the night he had turned Caroline, and this was pushing it a little too much.

Closing his eyes, he fell asleep still listening out for her, his body only relaxing once he was assured that she was safe.

* * *

 

_ No one will ever hurt you again. I won’t let them. _

Warm. Caroline felt so ridiculously warm whenever she thought of his promise. Whenever she remembered the look in his eyes. How dare he, a self-proclaimed monster, be kinder than any of her friends?

She hated him for it. She was thankful for it.

But, no matter what, she couldn’t let herself forget. She had to keep in mind who he was. What he had done. He wasn’t her friend, not really. If anything, he only thought of her as his property. His hybrid. Part of his pack.

In the back of her mind, though, a dark voice kept whispering to her about how good it would be to finally belong, kept beckoning her to accept her place with him, to accept him as her alpha.

It would be so easy to forget everything from her human life. So easy to just follow him around and obey his orders. But Caroline knew she would hate herself for the rest of eternity if she just surrended.

He wanted her with him as he created his army, as he searched for werewolf packs all over the country… But what happened when he was done? Would he let her go back home? Was there a home for her to go back to?

She needed to go back before it was too late. Before Klaus was the only thing she had left.

And, still, the thought of going back to that city all alone was not one she could stomach. Not yet. Perhaps she needed this time away. Perhaps she could learn what it was like to be in a pack, to be safe, before she faced any of them again.

Besides, Klaus had made her a promise that she knew he would keep: he would help her deal with Damon once all this was over.

Maybe she would wait for it. Be with him in the meanwhile. Let him train her, become stronger. Lethal. She didn’t want to be afraid anymore.

He could teach her that. At least as long as she remembered herself and didn’t let him just fashion her into a weapon he could use as he pleased.

She was done with being anyone’s pawn.

She would help him for now, would learn from him. Then perhaps he would consider her debt to be paid. Then perhaps she would be able to leave peacefully, without having to plan an elaborate escape or run away from him for the many years that would come. She had a feeling that he would follow her.

Caroline secretly enjoyed the fact that she wasn’t considered expendable anymore.

Looking out of the window, she fought down a smile.

They were back in his car, going to the woods for another day of training, as he had explained to her during the awkward breakfast back in their hotel room. She had avoided his worried eyes as she sipped from her mug of coffee mixed with blood, and had commented on how good the scrambled eggs were to fill in the uncomfortable silence.

Klaus had noticed that she’d been afraid he would bring up what had happened yesterday and had stirred the conversation into a different direction, talking about his plans for their training session, teasing her about how they’d have to continue on training her on fighting… She found herself relaxing. Smiling. Teasing him back.

And now the silence they rested in was not awkward at all.

Caroline couldn’t help but be thankful that he wasn’t treating her any differently, that, though he seemed worried, his eyes weren’t filled with any kind of nauseating pity. He didn’t look at her like a weak, pathetic, broken girl. It made her feel like she truly wasn’t any of those things.

_ Yeah, maybe spending some time away from Mystic Falls with him wouldn’t be so bad after all,  _ she thought. 

That mentality, of course, only lasted until her back hit the ground for what felt like the hundredth time and his hand was wrapped around her throat, keeping her there. His face was the picture of smugness, with his smirking and arched eyebrows.

She groaned, trying to bat his hand away, but he wouldn’t move.

“Try to get free,” he instructed. “Think of where you could hit me to make me lose my balance.”

Caroline tried to focus. He was leaning over her, standing on one knee. One of his hands was around her neck and the other was resting on the ground close to her head.

She wouldn’t be able to kick him. At least not in a way that would cause any damage. He would probably block any punch she threw at him, but… Both her hands were free, and only one of his was.

As she had foreseen, he grabbed her left wrist easily with his free hand when she tried to hit him, and she coughed as more of his weight was concentrated on the hand around her throat. But then she managed to hit him hard on the jaw with her right fist. Not hard enough to throw him off her, but enough that his balance wavered for just a second. She rolled her body towards him, making his stence unstable enough that she managed to maneuver her legs to kick him in the chest with both feet.

And what an amazing sight it was to see Klaus Mikaelson falling on his ass because of her.

He looked surprised for a moment. Then he grinned at her almost boyishly, unmasked pride on his eyes.

She smiled at him, too.

“That felt really great,” Caroline told him, accepting his hand to get up.

“I told you you’d get better at this,” he said pointedly and she rolled her eyes. This was clearly not the time for ‘I told you so’s. This was the time for gloating.

Of course, the fact that she had managed to sort of beat him once, didn’t mean that she would be able to do it again, which was proven during the next two hours where she was slammed against infinite trees and the grass had been crushed beneath her body countless times.

Still, she had managed to punch him once again, which she considered to be progress.

“You enjoy hurting me a little too much,” Klaus had teased her as he massaged his jaw. “Very kinky of you, sweetheart.”

She had tried and, unfortunately, failed to hit him again after that.

Eventually, he had claimed she had made enough progress for the day and decided they should do something else.

Caroline eyed him curiously and a little anxiously. Mastering vampire speed hadn’t been all that hard, she was working with how to best deal with her strength in a fight… And, as far as she was concerned, there was no other ability for her to train, except for compelling. She wasn’t sure she was ready for that.

She was internally cringing, hating herself for feeling weak when she had just decided that she would be strong. Hating that she would have to find a way to tell him that she wouldn’t be able to do it. What if he decided she was no longer worth training? What would she do then?

Klaus, of course, decided to surprise her.

“I will teach you how to hunt,” he said, seeming delighted by the look of shock and relief on her face.

She blinked a couple of times, frowning. “What?”

He smiled at her. It made her heart beat a little bit faster, but she ignored it. “It would be a good way of practicing the abilities we’ve been training,” he explained. “Don’t worry, love, you know I would never make you drink any sort of animal blood like your friends did.”

She knew he had meant it just to tease her, perhaps taunt her into giving him an irritated glare or scoff. But instead, a shadow crossed over her face.

“They are not my friends,” she said almost instinctively, somehow repulsed to the idea of considering any of them people she cared for.

Klaus’s eyes became golden for a fraction of a second. It was enough to make her wonder if maybe Damon wasn’t the only one he had plans for.

He nodded once, as if recognizing his mistake. Almost apologizing for it. She saw how he closed his hands into fists, the white of his knuckles showing.

“Close your eyes,” he instructed after clearing his throat. She fought down the urge to breathe in relief that he had chose not to dwell on this moment and did as he said, but the need was short lived, quickly being replaced by the tingling down her spine as he moved to stand behind her. When he spoke again, his words caressed her ear softly, his lips almost touching her skin. “I want you to focus.”

“On what?” she asked impatiently. Having him this close always left her on edge. She wished it was because she feared him.

Even with her eyes closed, she knew he was smiling. “Everything. Which way the wind is blowing, what scents it is carrying. Every sound you can hear. Try to pick them apart. Try to figure out where they are coming from, who they belong to. Can you do that?”

Caroline tried to do as he said, trying to at least concentrate on anything that wasn’t him.

She could smell a whole different bunch of things, could hear too many sounds coming from all sides… All of that was easy with her hybrid heightened senses, but focusing enough that she could tell them apart was harder than she thought it would be.

“What am I supposed to be looking for?” she asked impatiently.

“Listen,” he said. “Can’t you hear the rustling of leaves? The way the smaller bushes tremble as it walks? The snapping of twigs? Listen for something big.”

Having him describe to her what she should be listening for helped, and she managed to find those little clues in the middle of all the other noise, let the rest of it fade into the background.

“What is it?”

“Let’s find out, shall we? You can lead the way.”

Caroline opened her eyes to see him staring at her expectantly.

She couldn’t help but a feel a bit thrilled at the thought of chasing some animal in the woods, of being the predator, so she focused again, trying to get a better sense of where exactly those sounds were coming from before she sped towards it, Klaus following her close behind.

And with the wind hitting her with every step she took, she couldn’t help but think that this tasted so much like freedom.

In that moment, she was not afraid or weak or replaceable.

She was a huntress. She was a wolf.

And when she finally came to a halt, only to realize she had put herself within a few meters of a black bear… She felt powerful.

It was beautiful. The way it looked at her, almost as if in warning, as if telling her to step back now… The way it still believed to be the one holding the power.

Caroline didn’t break the stare as she took a step forward.

It growled. She moved closer.

The bear stood up on its hind legs, ready to attack her, and she smiled. A cruel, dangerous smile.

And then she allowed her fangs to show, let it know that she could play this game, too. And when it attacked, Caroline nearly laughed. It was easy to avoid its claws, the movement too slow for her.

It lunged at her, but she effortlessly pushed him off, with just enough strength that it threw off its balance and it fell back.

It moved to attack her again, but she defended herself, dodged each charge against her. It was easy. Way too easy.

_ “Don’t play with your food, honey.” _

It was what her mother used to say. But, well, she wasn’t planning on eating it. Not when the thought of picking fur from her teeth was making her body tremble in anger. A reminder of Stefan and all the ways he had failed her.

No, she wouldn’t drink its blood. She wouldn’t even kill it.

But the fact that she could if she wanted to, that she held its life on her hands and that it was beginning to realize that… She smiled again, meeting the beast’s eyes.

Her wolf was enjoying this, too. She could feel it pleasantly humming against her skin.

It wasn’t long before the bear was running away, its instincts finally telling it that he would not win this fight.

_ Good _ , she thought.

Klaus approached her. He had been silently watching the whole thing.

“Not in the mood for a chase?” he asked.

Caroline shook her head, not bothering to conceal her hybrid features just yet as she looked over at him. She wasn’t sure if she could say she was surprised by the way his eyes darkened at the sight.

“Not this time.”

He simply nodded. “All right. Did you at least enjoy yourself?”

By the look on his face, he already knew the answer to that question, but she grinned at him anyway, looking human once more and not the monster from seconds ago. “Yeah, it was fun. It does feel kind of nice that we are the most dangerous things out here.”

She blushed a little at her confession, but held his gaze.

This was exactly what she wanted to feel like. This was what he made her feel like.

She still wanted more.

“I want to learn everything you have to teach me,” Caroline continued. “I want to be the most dangerous thing anywhere I am.”

Klaus smirked at her, something like pride shining in his eyes.

“Second most dangerous thing,” he corrected. “I wouldn’t want to lose my position, would I?”

_ We will see about that,  _ she thought, but nodded anyway.

“Does that mean you agree?”

“Obviously,” he said, looking slightly offended that she’d doubt it.

Caroline squinted her eyes at him. “Will there be a price?”

The corner of his lips twitched as he tried to hold back a smile, even though his amusement was already written clearly on his face.

“I will teach you... and you will teach the others for me. Be my second in command, of sorts.”

Her eyebrows shot up as surprise hit her. “The others?”

She knew what he meant. The new hybrids he would create. But she wanted him to say it, to explain when he would be doing it.

“I will take the rest of the week to keep on training you, and then we will be visiting a pack upstate.”

They would be murdering wolves within the week, then.

Her stomach turned, but she nodded.

“Okay. But I want a time stipulation,” she demanded. “I will not be training your hybrids for the rest of eternity.”

Klaus didn’t refrain from smiling this time. She had a feeling he enjoyed her wits a little too much. “What do you have in mind?”

Caroline took a moment to think, biting her lower lip as she considered an offer that he would accept.

“Until the threat you are dealing with is over.”

His face grew serious out of a sudden, shadows now clouding his eyes.

“Threat?”

She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her body. “Please, I’m not stupid. First you come to my house and tells me that I need to go with you on some road trip to enlarge your army, claiming that it’s all complicated and that we didn’t have much time. Then, after you kidnapped me, you took me to see that witch, who you murdered claiming someone would go after her for information on us. Plus, you make these weird phone calls asking if ‘he’s still in place’. So, yeah, someone is after you and you are making an army to deal with them. Not that hard to figure it out, really.”

He swallowed.

“Impressive,” was all he said for a few moments, before shaking his head. “All right, then. You will train my other hybrids until this threat is dealt with.”

Klaus offered her his hand. She shook it.

“It’s a deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it was a bit shorter and fillery, but I needed to take some time and talk about what these characters are going through right now. Plus, their little deal at the end is important for their dynamic with the hybrids. So please let me know your thoughts and if you're enjoying the direction this is all taking!


	6. a heavy choice to make

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this!

Caroline splashed cold water on her face.

_ You can do this _ , she thought, catching her eyes as she stared into the mirror. Not unlike she had a little over a week ago, in a different hotel room, when everything seemed to be falling apart.

Since then she had found a purpose. She wanted to become strong, lethal… She wanted to become a creature from a nightmare. Maybe then hers would leave her alone.

Even if she trained with Klaus everyday until she was exhausted, her muscles sore and bones heavy despite her vampirism, her dreams didn’t always seem to care. She would still wake up some nights with her clothes clinging to her sweat-covered skin, her body not responding to her commands and the scent of fear lingering in the air.

She was not a fool to believe that the common room that separated her bedroom from Klaus’s was enough to keep him unaware of what was going on. And she hated it more than she could explain that he  _ knew _ . She was asking him to teach her to be strong, and yet she kept offering him proofs of her weakness.

He was graceful enough not to comment on it, though one night he had quietly asked her if she wanted him to make sure she had a dreamless sleep. Her cheeks had burned as she refused his offer, embarrassed by what she felt like were her shortcomings.

The offer had been tempting. So tempting that her pride alone wouldn’t have made her say no, but amounted to what she had felt the last time he had helped her… It hadn’t been compulsion. She was sure of that. But it hadn’t felt natural, either. And the idea of her body responding to a command that didn’t come from her own brain… She couldn’t stomach that. He didn’t press.

Exhausted as she was now, the appeal of the idea seemed even bigger, though. Restless nights and draining days didn’t make a good combination.

And now the stress of what they would be doing starting today…

Caroline had accepted Klaus as her alpha, if only temporarily. If only so she could get what she wanted. And she had been following his orders this past week — granted, his orders mostly involved her training, so she  _ wanted _ to follow them —, but now, the things that following his command would entail were leaving her a little on edge.

Because the week he had reserved to do nothing but train her was now over. And they would be visiting their first pack today.

Would he tell her to help with the killings? Would he make her feed the blood of the girl who had once been her friend to those people? Would he… Would he keep a broken girl around after he had the beginnings of his army already in his grasp?

Sure, they had made a deal, but could she trust Klaus Mikaelson to keep his end of the bargain? Because, maybe he thought he wouldn’t mind doing it when it was just the two of them. But what would he think once there were other hybrids she could be compared to? When he realized that maybe she wouldn’t be able to do what she had promised him? She had improved with his training, but that didn’t meant she had gotten miraculously good and would knew what to do to train others.

And killing all those werewolves… Would she be able to stomach it? Seeing the horror in their eyes as they died, forced to become what they had been taught to hate. She understood it all too well not to feel even a hint of compassion.

Would she be okay if their blood stained her hands and conscience?

_ It doesn’t matter _ , she thought, knowing that she was lying to herself.  _ I’ll do whatever it takes. _

She hoped Klaus gave them a choice. Same as he had with her — turn or die —, though she knew it was far from being a fair one. It still made her feel better, to know that she had chosen this. Chosen life.

Caroline heard him beginning to pace outside the bathroom door and shook her head. She didn’t have time for moral dilemmas right now.

Still, as her hand reached out for the doorknob… She couldn’t help but think that she had made the right choice.

She just wasn’t exactly sure  _ why _ she felt that way.

* * *

 

Caroline was avoiding his gaze.

It made him grip the steering wheel a little tighter in frustration, even if he had been expecting it. After all, despite what she had said about wanting to become something dangerous, he doubted she felt ready to watch so many people die.

Klaus calculated how many steps back this would force him to take. He knew it wouldn’t matter in the long run, but, while he could and would be patient if needed be, he found himself growing restless when it came to her.

The past few days had been… Good. More than that, really.

She was beginning to trust him. Not fully, not wholeheartedly, but the foundation for it was there. She trusted that he wouldn’t hurt her, trusted that he could help her achieve what she wanted. And he would, especially since her goals aligned so perfectly with his own.

The training sessions had gone amazingly well, in his opinion. It was clear just how much she wanted to learn, how much she was applying herself to this. She listened carefully, paid attention to his every movement. And she practiced for as long as he told her to, committed to it the entire time.

The sunshine smiles she would give him when she accomplished something, or the pretty flush in her cheeks as she realized just in what position they had ended up in… It was all so very tempting.

And the fact that she had accepted her place in his pack, accepted him as her alpha… Even if it was all very frail and she still thought of that bond as ephemeral… He would make sure it became something concrete, everlasting.

Caroline Forbes was his, after all. And Klaus Mikaelson did not let go of what belonged to him.

He enjoyed having that claim on her, enjoyed that she was beginning to accept that, even if unintentionally. She was playing him, or so she thought, using him to get what she wanted — revenge, security —, but his lovely hybrid refused to see that there was another game going on. One that he would win.

Every second she spent by his side, with no other choice but getting to know him, was a small victory. He could already see the hatred in her eyes fading away, giving place to other feelings… She was curious, intrigued. 

He could work with that, could use it to tempt her into staying once Mikael was dead and their deal was over.

Yes, that would work well. She would stay with him. Once his father was no longer a threat, he would fulfill his other promise to her, would take her back to that dreadful town and would make Damon Salvatore pay for all of his crimes… Perhaps he would paint her something using his blood as ink. He still hoped that she would wish to take matters in her own hands, still dreamed of her standing over his corpse with a bloodied smile and a pretty sundress.

And then once both their bloodthirst had been sated, they would leave Mystic Falls behind. He knew she would love Italy.

He smiled in spite of himself, picturing her in one of his favorite places in the world. She would probably enjoy his villa just outside of Turin, and she would smile back at him, no shadows in her eyes.

“What?” Caroline asked.

Klaus realized he had been staring at her, grinning like a fool. “Nothing,” he said quickly, but added when she rolled her eyes, “You’re beautiful.”

She scoffed, turning her head to look out of the window, but not before he caught sight of the blush in her cheeks. His smile grew wider.

“You want me to believe that you’re busy thinking of my…  _ beauty _ ? Especially considering what we’re doing today?”

He nodded, serious. “It’s most distracting. I suppose I should be thinking of all the werewolves I’m going to save today, and yet I find my thoughts wandering until they are consumed by you.”

It was easy to say these things — and completely mean it — when he knew that she wouldn’t believe he was telling the truth.

Indeed, she chose to ignore most of his words, focusing only on — “ _ Save?  _ That’s what you think you’d be doing?”

“That is what I would be doing. Saving them from a life of pain every full moon, giving them a purpose besides sitting around a campfire playing the guitar to pass the time.”

“Oh, you mean serving you? Yeah, that sounds so kind.”

“Never said it was,” he countered, figuring he probably shouldn’t enjoy having her oppose him as much as he did, but not particularly caring. “But you cannot pretend you don’t enjoy the fact that, next week when the full moon rises, you won’t have to endure all the bones in your body breaking. Is that not a gift? Being able to turn at will, being lethal to vampires at all times, being stronger, faster, more powerful… Are these not gifts? And most importantly… Immortality. All of eternity lying at your feet. Endless opportunities. Is that not offering them something great? Is that not saving them?”

She stayed silent for a few moments, needing to take in what he had said, knowing that it applied to her as well. She took a deep breath. “It’s not a gift if you ask for something in return.”

“Do I ask for an unfair price?” he inquired, genuinely curious about her opinion.

Caroline still wouldn’t look at him as she said, “I’m still deciding.”

“You don’t regret it, though,” he affirmed. He had seen just how much she enjoyed the power running through her veins, how she loved the freedom that came with being faster than the wind.

“I don’t,” she agreed, not seeing the point in lying. “But that doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t.”

There was an edge to her voice, as if she were testing him to see what she could or couldn’t say. He sighed. “What do you want to ask, Caroline?”

Again, she hesitated. He didn’t think she was scared of him, but rather of his answer, so he let her take her time. She finally turned to look at him again.

“Will they be given a choice?”

He wasn’t surprised by her question, and he was glad that, at least this time, he would be able to give her the answer that she wanted. There had been a reason why he had chosen this particular pack to begin with his quest, besides the proximity. They were known to be more open-minded regarding vampires than most werewolves… And he had learned that the current alpha was an ambitious man. He figured he wouldn’t have a lot of difficulty to persuade them join him.

Klaus wouldn’t allow any survivors, of course, but he figured that Caroline would at least consider the fact that he had given them a choice — the same he had offered her — when she thought about going back to hating him.

So he nodded. “That’s the plan, yes.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “Seriously?”

“I convinced you, didn’t I? I’m sure the other werewolves will be easily swayed if I managed to turn you into my first hybrid.”

Somehow, that made the blush in her cheek even more vivid. Perhaps it was the pride in his voice, or how he had called her his. He wasn’t sure. But he did rather enjoy that reaction coming from her.

“You didn’t convince me! I just didn’t want to die.”

He raised one of his brows. “Forgive me, sweetheart, but given what I know about your family and how you were raised, I do believe that death would’ve seen more appealing to you.”

“And what do you know of my family and how I was raised?” she asked, annoyance clear in her voice as she crossed her arms in front of her body.

Klaus took his eyes off the road to take a moment and memorize how stunning she looked when exasperated. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as they itched to sketch her just like that.

“Well, you’re father  _ is  _ a famous vampire hunter, and while all the founding families nurture a great hatred towards vampires, none despise them as much as the Forbes line. I suppose that’s to be expected with werewolves running in the family. Besides, you told me yourself that they taught you to spot a vampire ever since you were a child. It doesn’t take much to figure out what stories they must have fed you with. I’ve been wondering, actually. Have I ever been mentioned?”

Caroline looked troubled for a moment, and he cursed himself for reminding her of what her parents would think of her now. He wondered if she was calculating if her parents’ hatred was bigger than their love for her. Whatever conclusion she came up with, she didn’t share, and simply shook her head.

And, to surprise him, like she usually enjoyed doing, she smirked at him. “Why? Would you like the idea of being the monster in the stories my mother would tell me?”

He briefly imagined a young Caroline Forbes being told what to do by her mother — which he was sure had not been an easy task —, being warned that, if she misbehaved, he would come for her.

And imagined her growing older and learning the real tales, being horrified by them… And enticed, curious, the way humans always seemed to be when they learned of this level of cruelty.

Had she thought him to be only a nightmare before he showed up in town?

“Well, sorry to disappoint,” she continued, “but you were only briefly mentioned a few times when they were explaining vampires to me. I think they thought you to be a myth. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the ‘how to kill Klaus Mikaelson’ course.”

Klaus was pleased by how she looked at him with a smile, to make sure he knew she was just teasing. Something stirred in his chest as he realized that she didn’t want him dead.

That was a pretty good step, in his opinion.

“I’m afraid I won’t be adding that to your training, either.”

She pretended to be offended, gasping at him. “I didn’t sign up for an incomplete set of lessons, Klaus!”

He laughed. Caroline was joking with him, completely at ease… Yes, he enjoyed that very much. Today was turning up to be better than he could’ve had expected.

“It’s not incomplete, I assure you. I simply cannot be killed.”

She rolled her eyes at him, a smile still on her face. And yet, somehow, he had the feeling she knew he was lying.

It didn’t matter. It would become true soon enough.

* * *

 

Caroline couldn’t help but mentally curse herself whenever she thought about the way she had behaved back in the car.

She had promised herself she wouldn’t forget who he was and what he had done — to her and to countless others before —, but sometimes she couldn’t help it. It wasn’t that she didn’t remember exactly, it was just that sometimes it was so easy to see the man past the monster. So easy not to hate him. So easy to be comfortable around him. To tease him and laugh with him.

People like him should not be allowed to have such nice smiles, but she found herself admiring his.  _ Happy _ that he would smile at her, be at ease with her, too.

But today was not the day to overlook or accept who he was. Not when they would be murdering other wolves. And while he did say he’d give them a choice, that didn’t mean the situation was suddenly fine.

As much as he claimed he wanted to  _ save _ them, Caroline knew that he wasn’t doing this out of the good in his heart. He needed an army to deal with whoever was threatening him.

She wondered who it could be. While she was sure he had no shortage of enemies, she doubted there were many who could actually do any sort of harm. She didn’t think there would be any who would lead him to build an army to keep himself safe.

_ And yet he claims he can’t be killed,  _ she thought, glaring at his back as she followed him deeper into the woods.

As if he felt if, his shoulders tensed and he risked looking at her. She avoided his eyes.

Perhaps it wasn’t fair give him these mixed signs. Terrible person or not, she was stuck with him for now, and with everything he was and would be doing for her, she didn’t exactly take pleasure in confusing him with her mood swings.

But the things is, she was so confused herself. After all, she hadn’t expected to feel anything for him other than hatred and disgust, but it was hard to remain that way when he treated her kindly and… respected her.

God, was this what Stockholm Syndrome felt like?

She shook her head. If that was what she was experiencing, life would be so much easier. She wouldn’t have to blame herself for enjoying her moments with him. For breathing in relief when she woke up from her nightmares and remembered that he was just in the next room. For feeling safe when he was around.

For being scared of losing all of this after today.

It was wrong, she knew. But she couldn’t help but enjoy having his unwavering attention. The way he seemed to care in a way no else ever had.

It still felt weird being on his side, though. It still felt like betrayal to see him holding a cooler filled with what she knew to be bags of Elena’s blood. And yet, when Caroline tried to feel sorry for her for being locked up and used only for her blood… She found out all she felt was that burning anger that had been fueling her for the past few days.

At least Elena’s blood was being taken by a nurse, and the only discomfort she felt was the prickling of a needle in her arm. At least she knew she was needed alive and wouldn’t be disposed of without so much as a second thought.

Caroline made herself focus back on the task at hand, listening for any signs that the werewolf pack would be close. Ice ran through her veins as she heard the steps and laughter and small talk.

They were close.

Klaus stopped walking, turning around to look at her. She allowed their eyes to meet this time, knowing that he would likely say something important about what he— well,  _ they _ were about to do.

“When we get there, I’ll need you to do as I say. Do you understand?”

She stayed silent for a moment, only staring at him. “What will you have me do?”

The smile he offered her was wicked and unkind, but she didn’t flinch when he stepped closer to her. He reached out to cup her cheek and she let him. It was hard fighting the urge to lean into his touch, but she restrained herself as best she could. She held his gaze with wide eyes.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, I won’t ask you to kill them. As lovely as it would be to watch it, we both know you’re not ready for that. I want something much easier from you,” he said, his thumb softly caressing her skin with a tenderness that didn’t match the cruel man in front of her. “They’ll likely require proof, so I will need you to show your pretty monster for them.”

Her heart began to race inside her chest, like it always did whenever he got close. Her cheeks were likely painted red again, he could probably feel the extra warmth beneath his palm. How could this man have such an effect on her when he had just said he would enjoy seeing her murder other people?

Klaus took her reaction as an invitation and placed himself even closer to her, the tips of her breasts a hairbreadth away from his chest.

She felt her beast stirring inside of her, wanting to come out and play with him, as if it had heard he wanted to see it. If she had a little less self-control, she was sure her eyes would spark with golden rings and the veins beneath them would show. Her gums were aching, her fangs begging to come out.

He leaned in, his nose nuzzling her temple as he breathed her in. She closed her eyes. It was not fair that he got to do that to her, that he could make her lose herself in him just like that.

“Will you do that for me, Caroline?” he whispered, his lips brushing against her ear and making her shiver.

Slowly, he began to pull back, just far enough so that he could look at her.

She hadn’t even been aware she had been gripping his shirt until she opened her eyes and saw her hands closed around the fabric. She relaxed her hold on it, but her palms stayed pressed against his chest, feeling the muscles underneath them, as she found his gaze.

Caroline tried to think clearly, to focus on what he was asking of her… And, well, if that was all the role he was asking her to play in all this, then it was certainly much easier than what she had been expecting. Still, it was thrilling to make this sort of declaration to the world. To let strangers know what she now was, and who she was with. A small price to pay, but a price, nonetheless. She nodded, knowing that there wasn’t really a reason to argue against this.

The smile he offered her nearly made her heart stop.

“Good,” he said simply, still lingering there, his hand still cupping her cheek. She could not read his eyes.

She cleared her throat, ducking her head as she felt the need to break that moment. It was too much. This proximity, his chaste touches… It was far more than she could take. Her mind would not work properly if he remained so close.

_ So much for remembering who he is and what he’s done,  _ she thought bitterly when her heart dared ache as he stepped back.

“Shall we, then?” he asked, nodding with his head towards where the pack awaited. Caroline followed him silently.

There were nearly twenty of them. Not a huge community, but then again, she didn’t think Klaus would be going after the ancient clans for this. At least not right away. It would be easier and more discreet to add newer packs, mostly formed by wolves who were born away from others like them and never knew life in their company until they’d found each other.

Just like her, she figured… And just like Klaus.

She felt sorry for them. They were just there, living their everyday lives. Wooden houses had been built in the clearing, and people just seemed happy and unworried. There was indeed a guitar lying around and she could see the remainings of a fire. Klaus would be pleased he had guessed that much.

Everyone seemed to be staring at them as they stepped further into their territory. A dark-skinned man, who she guessed was the alpha of this group, stood up and walked until he was in front of them.

“What are you doing here?”

She stopped beside Klaus, watching him smirk at the other guy by the corner of her eyes.

“I’m Klaus Mikaelson,” he said, and, apparently, that’s all that needed to be said. Caroline saw the way everyone immediately recognized that name, the way their eyes widened with fear… and with interest. “I see you’ve heard of me. Wonderful. That will save us some time. I come with an offer for you.”

The man seemed to falter, his wolf undoubtedly recognizing that it was not the creature in charge here anymore. She nearly smiled, too.

“We know what offer you bring us,” he said in an act of bravado. “And we’ve heard the stories of what happened to the others who received it before.”

Klaus arched his brows at him. “Mike, is it?” — “ _ Mark. _ ” — “While it is true that I’ve had some… difficulties concerning the creation of more hybrids, those have been properly dealt with. I can now make as many of them as I’d like.”

“And how do we know you’re telling the truth?”

He looked at her, and she could swear his eyes softened just a little, even if his voice remained with that coldly amused tone as he said, “Ah, you see, that is why I’ve brought proof. Caroline, would you mind showing us?”

She stared at the werewolves, who were all looking at her expectantly. None of them were even blinking. She didn’t mind the attention, and offered them her own wicked smile before she allowed her real face to show through.

She couldn’t help but enjoy playing the part of the pretty monster at Klaus’s side, especially when she saw the admiration in some of their eyes as her fangs came through, and her eyes became golden.

It was liberating, not having to be ashamed of who she was.

Her wolf hummed pleasantly against her skin as she stared them all down. Some of them taking a step back, some of them bowing their heads. Even their alpha flinched. She did enjoy feeling powerful, dangerous.

“Isn’t she lovely?” Klaus mused, his gaze never leaving her either.

“She—  _ How?” _

He shrugged, obviously not thinking any of them were important enough to warrant an explanation from him. “Does it matter? All you need to know is that it works. And all  _ I _ need to know is… How many of you will volunteer?”

Caroline almost gasped when she saw that nearly all of them raised their hands.

* * *

 

In the end, he had only needed to kill three of the wolves, the other fifteen having chosen to join him.

She had watched him silently as he’d ripped their hearts out, but hadn’t moved away when he’d joined her side, both of them staring at the wolves who would be soon coming back to life and needing blood.

“They didn’t even… They  _ wanted _ this,” she had said, looking surprised.

“Is it so surprising that they would choose immortality, strength, power?” he had asked pointedly, reminding her of the conversation they’d had in the car hours ago.

She’d sighed. “I know it isn’t, but I mean, you didn’t even have to convince them. They barely asked any questions, weren’t worried about what serving you would mean! Even their alpha… They just went with it.”

“I suppose there are packs that will need some convincing on my part, but this particular one has been hearing the tales of what I’ve been trying to do. They already knew what I could offer them. They were likely already tempted.”

Caroline had nodded, accepting his words, though her eyes had wandered to the three people he had just killed. “Not all of them, though… Tell me, why did you have to kill them? You had enough volunteers, the others didn’t have to be punished.”

“This wasn’t about punishment. I simply didn’t want anyone running off and warning others of what I am doing.”

She had stayed silent for a few more moments, likely building up the courage to ask him the question that came next. “Who is after you?”

He had been saved from answering it by one of his hybrids waking up, and he’d found himself busy in the hour that came after that, making sure that all fifteen of them completed transition. She hadn’t helped him feed them, but had spoken to every single one of them after they were officially undead, offering reassuring words and advices.

Klaus had watched her the entire time, immensely pleased that she was involving herself in the process. That she was  _ helping him _ . He had felt pride wash over him now that she had chosen to reveal herself to others, to let them see how she belonged to him. And now she had cemented her place at his side in front of all these other wolves… His beast was very pleased.

Except... Now that they were making their way out of the forest, though she was walking beside him while the rest of them followed them, she had grown quiet.

It had not been the killings, she had talked to him after that, had  _ looked _ at him. This was something else. And something in him was itching to find out. He had to fight down the urge to question her about it during their walk. He would do it once they were alone again.

There were four SUVs waiting for them, his minions having prepared them for him, along with some other details he had requested.

He turned to look at his new hybrids, who gathered, waiting for him to begin speaking. He nearly smiled when Caroline stood by his side, facing them, too.

“Here is what you are going to do now: you will drive with us as we go to our next town. There are folders in the cars with the information of what you are supposed to do once you get there. Follow those instructions. There are blood bags in the coolers in the trunk. You may drink from them, but you will be discreet and control yourselves. Should you choose to feed from a human, you will not lose control and kill them. When I wish to contact you, I will call you on the phone that is in one of the cars. Until then, you will lie low and not bring any attention to  yourselves. And do be warned: I don’t deal well with incompetence. Do not fail me. Do you understand me?”

All of them muttered their agreement at once, seeming all too eager to please. He found himself smiling. The sire bond was indeed a brilliant thing.

“Off you go, then,” he dismissed them, and they quickly began to do as they were told.

“Am I… Am I supposed to join them?” Caroline asked quietly by his side.

He turned to look at her, surprised by the question. “Of course not. You will be staying with me.”

And he could tell that she fought it so very hard, but the corner of her lips twitched, revealing the evidence of a smile she was trying to conceal. Her eyes showed him just how pleased she was with that outcome.

Was that why she had been upset? Had she thought he would just put her with the other hybrids as if she weren’t more deserving than that? Had she been imagining that the only reason he had kept her close was because she was his first hybrid?

Had she not noticed she was different? The way the other wolves had responded to her? Hadn’t she realized that her wolf had stared down at an alpha today and won?

Oh, his lovely Caroline… She still didn’t know she was a queen in the making. He would have to fix that.

“In the deal we made,” he reminded her, “I said I wanted you to be my second in command, sweetheart, and I meant it. Now, come on. We should to get going.”

She followed him into the car, still looking a bit too stunned by his decision to say anything. But he could tell that she was feeling relieved. Perhaps happy, even.

What mattered was Caroline Forbes was right by his side — where she should be… And where he would make sure she would stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think!!


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